Satish Handa, February 2
While talking to The Financial World, wholesale cloth merchants of Asia’s biggest cloth market Ambala expressed no relief to the traders in recent interim budget and said that the budget is merely a poll budget to attract voters belonging to farming, labour and middle class sectors in coming Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha polls. Most of the traders of view that people in trade and business, providing maximum revenue to the government, adversely affected due to demonetization and GST declared by the Union government had high hopes in this budget fail to find any relief in this budget and feel disappointed.
According to Vishal Batra president of wholesale cloth traders association, their demand for a single GST slab instead of 5 and 12 percent has been ignored since they are having lot of inconvenience and wastage of time in maintaining separate records. He said that no doubt the budge have been proved beneficial for farmers and people belonging to middle class category but announcement has been made in favour of people in trade and business. According to traders, government has fixed cash business transaction up to Rs 10000 only to encourage digital transactions as a result the payments made through cheques in the business are giving rise to legal cases due to dishonouring of large number of cheques in the banks. Traders demanded to increase cash business transaction to Rs 50000.
The Financial World also had had views of local leaders of political parties in opposition as regard declared budget. According to Congress leader Himmat Singh, like other developmental announcements made by BJP government in past years rule, most of the announcements made in this interim budget only to attract vote bank in approaching polls would provide no relief to the people. He said that if Swaminathan Commission Report would have been implemented by BJP government there was no need of any financial help to the farmers. He said, it was better to waive of farmers loan instead of offering them Rs 6000 annual financial aid, a cruel joke to farmers. Himmat Singh said that it is merely a poll budget and government should have waived off GST on tractors, agriculture implements, pesticides, urea and DAP fertilizers. Abhay Saini district president AAP said after the coming Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha polls if BJP comes to power against would forget all promises like made prior to 2014 polls. According to INLD leader Onkar Singh, BJP government is trying to apply cream on the faces severely affected by demonetization (Not-bandi), implementation of GST, unemployment to youths and constantly rising prices in past four and half years.