New Delhi: Left allies on Tuesday joined the Opposition in slamming the 2006-07 Union Budget, saying it was "anti-people and pro-rich."
They also said that the exercise would lead to price hike and turn out to be a "fraud" on the aam admi.
Former Prime Minister and NDA Chairperson Atal Behari Vajpayee said the Budget provisions would lead to spiraling prices, and there was nothing to cheer about for the farmers also.
"This Budget has deceived the common man. The tax system is regressive. Heavy concessions have been granted to the corporate sector and spending on education and healthcare has not been increased to the expected levels," CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta said.
Dasgupta added that heavy concessions had been granted to foreign institutional investors and that there was "no proposal to tax wealth, inheritance and turnover. There is also nothing to mop up black money. We will strongly protest and oppose this Budget".
In the same vein, his CPI(M) colleague Basudeb Acharia said that the UPA Government has not paid any heed to the suggestions given by the Left parties on resource mobilisation and continued to burden the common people to raise resources.
According to Acharia the Budget had no proposal to widen the tax base, check tax evasion or recover outstanding dues and non-performing assets. Neither was there any proposal to reduce the interest on rural credit from seven to four per cent.
Hitting out at the Centre, BJP leader V K Malhotra said the Budget would further increase prices and was against development and growth.
Meanwhile, Forward Bloc leader Debabrata Biswas said, "Our expectations have not been realised" and added that there was no concrete measure to uplift the farmers. In a bid to pacify the corporate houses and the salaried people, the Finance Minister has shown "considerable weakness," he said.
However, Shiv Sena leader Suresh Prabhu said that while the Finance Minister had passed the test, he had failed to get a distinction.
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