'UPA's Communal budgeting reminds of British era': Rajnath

New Delhi, Feb 29 (UNI) Stating that Finance Minister P Chidambaram's budget presentation was on the same lines as expected, BJP President Rajnath Singh today regretted that the proposals had set ''an unprecedented and ignominous record of communal budgeting in Independent India''.

''The communal budgeting of the UPA reminds the countrymen of the British era,'' Mr Rajnath Singh said in a statement here.

The Government was expected to give a populist tinge in view of the coming Lok Sabha elections but the Finance Minister failed even in this endeavour, he said, adding that the loan-waiver plan did not have the backing of budget allocations leaving huge numbers of farmers dependent on private money lenders to fend for themselves.

The agriculture growth rate was a mere 2.6 per cent and the government had failed by not reducing the interest rates by four per cent. The coming days would be full of problems for the farmers as the Finance Minister had done nothing to empower the farmer community, he alleged.

Though Income Tax limit had been raised to Rs 1.5 lakh, it would not help the government employees who were expecting the implementation of the sixth Pay Commission from 2008.

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