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Cong 'disappointed' with Interim Budget

February 03, 2004 20:00 IST

The Congress on Tuesday termed the Interim Budget as "disappointing" and said it has turned out to be an "anti-climax" for whatever concessions announced by the Centre in the last few weeks.

Congress spokesman S Jaipal Reddy said there was nothing "substantially" new in the Budget, which was silent on the most important issue of unemployment as also for farmers, rural sector and the middle class.

Besides, he said there were widespread expectations that Income-Tax limit would be raised to at least Rs 100,000, which was overdue ever since Bharatiya Janata Party came to power six years ago. "The failure to raise I-T limit has diluted the merger of 50 per cent DA with the basic salary," Reddy added.

Reddy said Finance Minister Jaswant Singh's claim about reduction in fiscal and revenue deficits is based on "statistical juggllary. If there has been a single factor for GDP growth, it has been the good monsoon".

He said the finance minister has refused to take note of the rise in inflation rate and he only talked about "annualised" inflation.

Reddy also questioned the finance minister's announcement on the availability of loans to farmers at nine per cent saying, "This offer is intellectually dishonest because there is no mechanism to offer loan at this rate as farmers get loans through cooperatives and NABARD and they are not in a position to provide such loan".

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