Terming the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) first federal budget 2013-14 as disappointing and no people-friendly with no remedial steps to address masses' agonies, opposition parties Wednesday criticised the government for ignoring the salaried class and increase in taxation measures.
Reacting to the federal budget, leader of the opposition in National Assembly Syed Khurshid Shah who is also central leader of PPP, deplored the neglect of public sector employees in the budget, saying no remedial steps have been proposed to lessen the price hike burden on the poor masses.
He also criticised the PML-N government for not fixing minimum wage, saying that the PPP's former government had fixed Rs 8,000 as minimum wage in the previous budget. He maintained that the PPP government had made an increase of about 150 percent in the last five years in salaries of the government employees while complete neglect of salaried class by the PML-N government is unacceptable.
Describing the 6.3 percent deficit budget as not people friendly, he said that it is a matter of extreme concern that the PML-N's first budget lacks any vision to help address poverty rather increase in taxes would further add to the agonies of the masses. Referring to removal of subsidies, the leader of the opposition said that it would result in further hike in electricity tariff, which will increase the burden on the poverty-stricken people.
"It is up to the people to decide... what they have been given in the budget by the party which they voted to power," Shah said, adding that he would present the PPP's proposals in his speech and hoped that the government will accept these for the sake of the poor masses.
Referring to renaming Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) as Income Support Programme, he said that the PML-N government though continued the programme, it did not tolerate the name of PPP's late chairperson [Benazir Bhutto], who made it possible for Nawaz Sharif to be reelected as country's third time prime minister. Another senior PPP leader Syed Naveed Qamar, while reacting to the federal budget, termed it disappointing, saying no relief has been proposed for the masses. As the people took to the streets against the power loadshedding, he said, adding that the PML-N government did not propose any new project to be initiated in the power sector while the Finance Minister enumerated those projects that have been initiated by the PPP government.
Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Makhdoom Javed Hashmi, said that the budget does not reflect PML-N manifesto, saying the tall claims of economic revolutions in its manifesto remained as 'hollow slogans'. Architected by bureaucrats, he said that the budget does not carry anything for common man and it is regrettable that no increase in salaries of government employees has been made.
Another senior PTI leader Ghulam Sarwar Khan termed the federal budget as a 'jugglery of words', saying no relief has been given to masses while the agriculture sector has completely been neglected. Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Dr Farooq Sattar rejected the increase in general sales tax (GST) from 16 to 17 percent, saying the increase in GST tantamount to rise in direct taxes which will directly affect the poor masses.
He termed the overall budget as not people friendly, saying that the status quo has been maintained and the poor masses have been taxed, which is injustice with the middle class. He said that increase in GST would trigger a new tsunami of inflation and price hike.
He said the sitting government once again exempted the feudal and landlords to bring them in tax net while no measures have been suggested to tax the richest and privileged class, adding that the whole burden has been transferred to the middle class and less privileged section of the country.
Farooq Sattar dubbed the budget as a traditional one saying no measure has been announced to check inflation‚ unemployment and poverty. He was of the view that no cut was announced in tariff of electricity, gas and water, which would further increase the burden on the poverty stricken masses. He also suggested that the Rs 50 billion allocations for NHA should be shifted to power sector to control load shedding, saying that the country needs immediate response to the energy crisis and it does not need constructions of more highways and motorways.
JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman said the present budget has been prepared by bureaucracy as such the new government needs to make economic reforms in accordance with present day needs. He, however, welcomed the announcement of the government to abolish circular debt, but added it should be done in a way that it does not create inflation and widen deficit. He said we need to announce medium and long-term measures as well to resolve energy crisis.
He suggested that solar energy should be tapped and government should establish subsidised factories for solar panels in co-operation with private investors. He also criticised Wapda for claiming it will start Basha Dam with the cost of $9 billion, saying we should not mislead people by such catchy announcement. "Yes we need dams but we need to raise resources as everybody knows Wapda does not have huge resources at this juncture," he added. He said instead of abolishing subsidies, these should be rationalised and also targeted at the poorer sections of the society so as to check inflation. He said that tax net should be expanded but it should not burden common man and middle class.
He said economic revival is necessary but we also need to focus on job creation. He said in order to encourage private investment and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), we need to create right environment by ending terrorism and improving law and order situation.
He said austerity measures and cutting deficit should not mean halting the overall engine of the economy, adding that emphasis should be laid on pro-growth and pro-job policies as austerity doctrine of EU and US policy elite against recession has intellectually collapsed.
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