New Delhi/Chandigarh, December 19
Senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab Raghav Chadha hit out at the BJP government over its demand for Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2022-2023 in the Parliament. He said that he wishes that this facility was also available for the common man of the country, who are reeling under incessantly rising inflation, especially every end of the month.
During his address in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, MP Raghav Chadha said that there could be only two reasons for demanding extra money from the proposed budget. First that, at the beginning of the first financial year, the government presented its budget by estimating less than what it wanted to achieve, in an attempt to mislead the public by beautifying the fiscal deficit. Or the second reason could be that the government has completely failed to manage its budget.
Raghav Chadha said that the discussion should be held on the government’s demand for additional budget in the House and two other important issues should also be discussed. First, where and how was the Rs 40 lakh crore spent by the government at the beginning of the financial year and what did the country get from it in particular? Because all the current economic indicators of India are only ringing the alarm bell. Secondly, it also laid the foundation of the budget for the financial year 2023-24 to be presented 2-3 months from today.
Chadha proposed to discuss the budget twice before the House
AAP leader Raghav Chadha gave an important suggestion to the House and said that the discussion on the budget should be held twice. One is when the budget is presented and the other is during the winter session 7-8 months after the presentation of the budget so that the House and the people of the country can know what the country has achieved by spending the budget presented. How many jobs did you get? What is the unemployment rate? What is inflation rate?
India’s economy is in shamble, the parliament and the government need to look into it before sanctioning the surplus money: Raghav Chadha
Chadha said that today the government has come to the House to demand Rs 3,25,757 crore. But before that, the attention of the House and the Finance Minister was drawn to the 8 major economic problems which he said are the eight diseases from which India’s economy is suffering today.
Raghav Chadha coins new slogan for BJP and says, ‘Har Ghar Berozgar, Jehi hai Bhajpa Sarkar’
Raghav Chadha stressed that the biggest problem before the country’s economy is unemployment, which rate is the highest in the last 45 years. He said that the BJP government had promised to provide 2 crore jobs every year, jobs were not given, but the central government has definitely broken all records in the unemployment rate.
When this government came to power in 2014, the unemployment rate was 4.9%, which has increased to 8% today and it is only the organized unemployment rate. The government received 22 crore applications for jobs and only 7 lakh jobs were given. Today, the unemployment rate of the country which we used to take pride in calling a young country has become a burden on the same youth. Taking a dig at the BJP, he said that the party’s new slogan should be ‘Har Ghar Berozgar, Jehi hai Bhajpa Sarkar’.
Considering incessantly rising rate of inflation, today the country does not need ‘Aadhaar card’ but a ‘Udhaar card’: Raghav Chadha
Taking another swipe at centre government over inflation, he said that today the country is not in need of ‘Aadhaar card’ but it needs a ‘Udaar card’. He said that the country is struggling with incessantly rising inflation that the government imposes on the people without bringing a law. Inflation is at its highest level in the last 30 years. The wholesale inflation rate is 12-15% and retail is 6-8%. Chadha said that the promise to the people of the country was to increase income, but the increase in the last eight years is only inflation. The government is making every countryman poor.
Compared to 2014, petrol price hiked from Rs 55 to Rs 100 per liter, diesel from Rs 45 to Rs 90 per liter, milk from Rs 30 per liter to Rs 60 per liter, cylinder has increased from Rs 400 to Rs 1100. “The Finance Minister does not eat onions, but she must have eaten flour, dal, rice and cheese and she must know that today the rate of fertilizer inflation in the country is 10-17% which has worsened the economic condition of the common man as India’s per capita income has come down by Rs 9,160 under the BJP government,” he said.
Considering incessantly rising inflation, today the country does not need ‘Aadhaar card’ but an ‘Udhaar card’: Raghav Chadha
Chadha also questioned the government’s failed policies for economic reforms, saying the growth rate, which was 13.5 per cent in the first quarter of the financial year, has come down to just 6.3 per cent in the second quarter, which is the festive season. During the fourth quarter i.e. the next budget, it will fall further to 5%, which has never happened before. The government is talking about a growth rate of 8% for the next financial year, but every data, including the World Bank and IMF, indicates that the growth rate will remain in the between of 5-6 percent.
Chadha takes dig at BJP and says, ‘You don’t even give free rewari, then where did the loan money of Rs 85 lakh crore vanished’?
Chadha said that debt is the next big problem because India took a loan of Rs 55 lakh crore in 66 years from 1947-2014, but the BJP government took a loan of Rs 85 lakh crore in eight years from 2014-2022. “They don’t even distribute ‘free rewari’, then where is all this money going?
Farmers may be naive, but they don’t forget anything, according to 2021-22 figures, 30 farmers commit suicide every day, the government has money to waive debt of capitalists, not for ‘annadatas’: Raghav Chadha
Raising the issue of farmers, the AAP MP said, “It is like a disease for our economy that the loans of capitalists are being waived off, while in the last eight years, the debt burden on farmers has increased by 53%.” Today, every farmer has an average debt of Rs 75,000 and when poor farmers are unable to repay the loan, they are humiliated, but the government is transporting rich corporate friends to foreign in business class, those have looted crores of taxpayers money.
He said that the country’s farmers are forced to consume poison, in the year 2021-22, 10,851 farmers committed suicide, that is, every day 30 farmers die due to ill-conceived economic policies of the government. Reminding the BJP government about over a year-long farmers’ agitation and the farmers who were martyred, he said that the farmer can be naive, but they don’t forget anything.
BJP govt should answer why private sector investment declines despite reduction in corporate taxes and loan waivers of capitalists: Raghav Chadha
Chadha also hit out at the BJP government over the declining investment in the private sector and said the government took two steps for the corporate sector. The corporate tax has been reduced from 30 to 22 per cent, which is also causing a loss of Rs 1.5 lakh crore to the government every year and secondly, the BJP government has waived the debt of Rs 10 lakh crore of capitalists in the last five years.
The government had argued that this would increase employment, reduce inflation, but every fact is telling that what happened is the exact opposite. Inflation and unemployment rates are skyrocketing and investment in the private sector also registered a sharp decline. In the first quarter, there was a decline of 20% and foreign investment declined by 59%. At the same time, the GFCF has also been declining steadily since 2019-20. Chadha said the finance minister needs to understand that investment does not come from giving concessions but from increasing demand.
The value of the rupee is falling and the exports is also a matter of concern, the failure rate of new startups is also worrisome: Raghav Chadha
Expressing concern over the continuously falling value of the rupee, he said that earlier the big leaders of the BJP used to say that the country’s reputation falls due to the fall of the rupee, but now the reputation, prestige and rupee have all come down to the low level. “What is surprising is that despite the fall in the rupee, exports are also falling, which is not usually the case,” he said. The failure rate of new startups is very high which is the eighth big challenge for the economy.
Less than 10% of new startups are able to complete 5 years and all the big startups have consistently reduced, due to which the unemployment rate continued to increase.
BJP doesn’t even distribute ‘free rewari’, then why is there a need for an additional budget for subsidies: Raghav Chadha
When we provide free electricity, water, education and health facilities in Delhi, this government says Arvind Kejriwal is distributing ‘free rewari’: Chadha
Chadha added that now the government has demanded additional subsidy for budget. When we provide free electricity, water, education and health facilities in Delhi, this government says Arvind Kejriwal is distributing ‘free rewari’. Giving subsidy and facilities by the Aam Aadmi Party government is ‘free rewari’.
He said the MP gets 34 air travel, free water, 50,000 litres of petrol per year free of cost, but when the same facilities were given to the common man, these people call it ‘Rewari’. He said that 40 developed countries of the world provide free electricity, water, education and health facilities and today they are developed countries for this reason.
AAP leader Raghav Chadha launches scathing attack on BJP over additional budget for new ED office
In the demand for additional budget to complete the grants, the central government has asked for Rs 30 crore land for the new office of the ED, etc. “This is the BJP’s most utilised department as they had lodged many opposition leaders and ministers, therefore, why should the government keep a budget of only Rs 30 crore rather it should be 30 lakh crores? ED police stations should be opened in every street mohalla.
Raghav Chadha asks 10 important questions related to the Indian economy from BJP government and finance minister
After this, Raghav Chadha dared the centre government and union finance minister to answer ten questions related to economy. He first asked that, does the Hon’ble Finance Minister know the rate of 1 kg flour and 1 litre of milk? Secondly, why did the BJP’s mega budget of 2022 fail to provide employment? Thirdly, why are the goods produced in India so expensive and out of the common man’s budget? Fourth, despite concessions to the corporate sector, why is investment not coming in the private sector? Fifth, how many jobs were created by the capitalists’ debt waivers and tax reduction? Sixth, why the sharp decline and failure of the new economy i.e. the startup economy? Seventh, how much will rupee take to regain its value? Is the government waiting for hundreds of rupees against the dollar? Eighth, why the decline in exports?
Ninth, what is the meaning of inflation being higher than the growth rate? Inform the house and people of the country that, when will the tax burden from the common man come down?
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