Aam Admi : FM gets feed back at Congress HQ

Finance Minister Mr Chidambaram spent about two-and-a-half hours on Wednesday day at the Congress’ 24 Akbar Road headquarters meeting a gathering of forty party leaders comprising working committee members, general secretaries, MPs, secretaries and other office bearers to reach to consensus to have Aam Adami budget.

Farmers interest,reduce prize of essential commodities,improvement in public distribution network, demands for enhancing the budgetary allocation for SC/STs and minority-focused programmes, a ‘youth oriented’ budget,calling for a scrapping of SEZs, better implementation NREGA, for expansion of the midday meal scheme and universalisation of the ICDS,cut in the service tax rate and for the income tax exemption limit to be raised to 1.5 lakh.

Congress party media chairperson Veerappa Moily, sum-up all these demands , emphasis on the rural and farm sector which has been been lagging in planning India’s Planning commission.

Congress leaders took the stand in this pre budget exercise with Finance Minister who is to present his last budget as the nation will go for General election next year, the Congress wanted from the budget an Aam Admi budget a discussion on which culminated into the desire of the Congress think tanks needed to do before the next general elections in 2009.

“The benefits of the GDP will not percolate down if price rise is not controlled,” said party leader M Veerappa Moily.

“Unless you can rein in the prices and come up with specific programmes meant for the poor there is little hope for us,” a Congress party MP told him.

“pro poor face”. “The minister must come up with measures to help save farmers from committing suicides,” said S Surjewalla head of the party’s Kisan cell.

“The well-off alone should not gain, the benefits of this growth must percolate to the deprived section as well,” said Rajesh Misra, congress MP from Varanasi.

Chidambaram the Union finance Minister after the demands and suggestions made by his party men, but without any statement reached final words “I have heard what they had to say. The response will come on February 29.”