Open Letter To Pranab Da !!
Dear Pranab Da,
Hope you are doing extremely well after presenting your sixth budget and all those undeserved pats on your back by your close stooges for preparing a so called populous budget. Let me clear one thing Pranab Da before you start presuming and getting to a conclusion that the writer is uneducated as far as civic sense is concerned – “I have got high regards for you; as an elder and as the finance minister”. I am no economist of any stature either. The last and the best economics that I ever studied were part of my curriculum for the 1st semester of my Engineering days. As novice as I can be when it comes to economics; I still can see some glaring disjoints on the budget prepared by you and thought of sharing with you. I don’t believe in writing open letters as I feel the content should strictly be kept limited to the access of the intended recipient. But as I don’t have the direct address of yours’ where I can send the letter, I had no option but to write an open letter to let you know about my concerns on the latest budget. Hope this would reach your desk one day or the other. Having said that; my little confession can no way take away the fact that the budget for the fiscal year 2011-2012 that you presented today in parliament is rubbish, non-comprehensive, directionless and prepared with an eye at the upcoming state legislative elections and of course a bit of votebank politics.
Honestly I never expected the Direct tax code to be implemented from this year (A confirmation that you had announced during last year’s budget); more so after looking at grand scale scams like 2G, CWG; amounting well into lakhs individually. The fiscal deficit that the exchequer must have incurred due to these two scams alone is well imaginable. So, as expected the crooks were left to run away with the loot at their own convenience while the common man is forced to fill up the vacuum of the government coffer created by this loot. Now looking at the scams that’s getting unearthed on hourly basis, I am quite sure we will unearth few more sinner scams this year and the exchequer would yet lose more money. So in nutshell we won’t have the Direct Tax code implemented in 2012 either. You can take my words and remember this day when I would be asking the questions (on why DTC is not implemented this year also) after you present the next budget (provided your government remains in power by then).
Now look at the jingoism you displayed with your direct tax slab to begin with. I don’t see a reason on why you increased the taxable slab from 1.6lakhs to 1.8. That is a sheer nonsense way to project yourself as the one who is thinking a lot about the common man by giving them a tax relief of Rs 2000/-. At this age of extremely high food inflation a mere discount of Rs 2000/- is like giving a truck full of Parle-G biscuits to famine stricken Somalia. I am unable to understand the thought process behind this move. Perhaps if you can let all of us know, the last time you went to the market to shop for your household food items, would help a long way in concluding on why you are so unaware and oblivious of the misery the common man is facing. Let me assure you Pranab Da – in 2000 an average household can barely run for a couple of weeks now-a-days. When lintels are sold not a paisa below Rs 100/-, vegetables closely competing with the price of gems and jewelry and prices of other essential goods hitting the roof; a relief of Rs 2000/- is a mockery to the common man than help. Why this generosity Pranab Da? We really don’t need it as it would hit the exchequer around a Lakh and thirty thousand crore. If our Sarkar is really in a need of that money, we people would be more than happy to cough it out. It is just the irony that the hard earned money of the common man is left for thugs like Kalmadi, A.Raja to loot while 30% of our population still goes to bed empty stomach. The best of the lot was your super senior citizen scheme. The slab that you increased from 2.5 Lakhs to 5 Lakhs is laughable to start with. Pranab da – could you please take a pause and let me know how many 80 years of this country earn that amount of money? Only super rich, I presume. So whom you are trying to benefit? You could excuse me if this plan of yours was conceived looking at the large number of 80 years present in the parliament; including yourself. The good for nothings certainly need some liberty for the handsome work they are doing for decades altogether.
Now it seems; except visiting the loo one has to pay service tax for everything. You brought almost everything on this planet under the service tax net. When the service itself is so expensive that it has already given a constipated look to the consumer; to top it with a tax might just give all an irritable bowel syndrome. Now please stop your colleague Kapil Sibal from uttering nonsense in television shows in favor of your policies on the account that the amount of the service tax could be very small. Certainly in a period where the middle class is reeling under high food inflation; any savings (how little may be) is a bonus. Rather than easing the burden a little from the common man you are burdening him further. The idea of having hotels, hospitals, air travel and many more under the service tax net is anything but insane.
I have a serious grievance. I had also given my wish-list through the finance ministry portal. I am sure there would be millions who might have done the same. I can bet that you haven’t addressed even one of those wish-lists (including mine). That is fine as it is just a wish-list only and it is not necessary that every wish of yours should be fulfilled. But here I was expecting a consistency from you. If millions like me were discarded; then a certain Rahul Gandhi should have faced the same consequence. But for some strange reasons you gave priority to that person’s wish-list while side-kicking million others. Just few days back Mr.Gandhi met you along with a bunch from the weavers association. All they wanted is a waiver of their loans they have taken from co-operative banks. Remember this peculiar demand that the Muslim community is doing for some time? So there you go – you thought the demand to be a brilliant idea and allocated 3000 crore for their loan waiver. Pranab Da, may I ask – who is going to pay for this? If you find the question a little idiotic as the obvious answer being me and million others, then I have some reservations. Reservations because; I pay my taxes religiously for the growth of the nation, not for your votebank. Why in earth I would pay from my nose to make sure that you keep your vote chunk happy and loyal? That is out of scope as far as my interest and responsibilities go.
Now the second effort of yours to appease your votebank was a shocker. You promptly allocated 50 crore for Jamia Milia Islamia. Didn’t you? Isn’t it the same university which got the nod to reserve 50% of its seats for Muslims? To top it, they also don’t have to cater to the reservations for SC/ST and OBC. Now please educate me on why I pay for such luxury of your government. If I don’t see my own kid getting benefited by an ounce even, in future then why in the name of Neptune I would invest? If you are so serious to secure your votebank then why don’t all members of your party contribute for this cause than burdening the already overburdened common man? I am sure the amount your party members have looted from government coffer, a mere 50 crore is a packet of peanuts. Could you please spare the middle class from all the idiocy you display every now-and-then in the name of minority development? We had enough for over last 5 decades and suffered enough due to this national hypocrisy.
Pranab Da – in one line you disappointed us. I won’t give more than 6 in a scale of 10 for this budget. All those economic survey and 9% growth for the 2011-12 fiscal and any of that nonsense are not going to heal the common man a bit even. At the end of the day the average middle class wants food on his plate; not some fancy statistics. All those growth is for the rich. Ambani brothers might just make few thousand crores more. Tatas would acquire few more hundred acres of land to produce a crap called Nano in thousands. So little one speaks about statistics is better; more so when people here are struggling to arrange a square meal per day. So get rid of these fancy numbers and work seriously on how to curb the inflation. When you say the food inflation would subdue in the current financial year to a manageable proportion, I tend to laugh to the hilt. Our Prime-minister has said pretty much the same thing few months back and only wanted 100 days from the citizens to set things right. We are long past those 100 days and things have worsened since our PM made those tall claims. Our Public distribution system is in shambles with hoarders and thugs running the show in alliance with our corrupt Agriculture minister. Nobody seems to be answerable for this colossal mess of the nation. Honestly this particular government has long lost the plot. More than true statesmen running the show it is personal greed and self-prosperity that has taken the driving seat. And all that left for the common man to see and tolerate is train load of jingoisms and dirty blame games thrown at each other. Hope someone as intelligent as you might just take a note of the plight of the common man and take some steps well within your capacity to set things straight.
Hope this letter is not much of a disturbance for you. Continue to bath in the fake limelight and the wrong notion of producing yet another people friendly budget and raise a toast in self-glory. If time permits take a glimpse at the 40 year old Pranab Mukherjee reading out his first budget and try comparing it with the 70 year old Pranab Da of today. You will get the answer – you were bit reasonable and considerate at your young age at least.
Regards
-One Helpless Common-man
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