It is a 'Main Hoon Na Budget' says Arun Shourie

New Delhi, Mar 14 (UNI) Popular Bollywood number 'Main Hoon Na'(Don't worry, I am there) today lent a touch of light humour to a speech full of invectives delivered by one of BJP's star speakers in the Rajya Sabha Arun Shourie for slamming the Union Budget as full of empty promises.

The Finance Minister talks of Rs 60,000 farmers loan waiver, Rs 31000 food subsidy, petroleum subsidy, so many other reliefs but does not provide for the money, Mr Shourie said resuming the discussion on the Budget in the Rajya Sabha.

''It is just an attempt to fool the people in view of elections.

It is the typical''Main Hoon Na'' school of budget,'' said the senior BJP Member diluting the very harsh and sarcastic tone of his remarks for the moment.

''The Budget promises everything to everybody, but fails to spell how it would mobilise the funds,'' Mr Shourie said.

In fact, he said, it has been the history of the Congress government to go on announc packages after packages without bothering the least as to whether the relief was reaching the people. Also, the government goes on setting up committees and commissions on the problems of farmers without caring to implement their reports.

''There was the Prime Minister's package for farmers in 31 districts, but what had happened to those who had swallowed all that money?'', the BJP Member sought to know.

There is the Swaminathan Commission Report, the Radhakrishnan Commission Report and host of other such reports, but all were gathering dust, said the BJP Member.

''The Radhakrishnan Commission had recommended that instead of waiving the farmers loan, they should be given loan for paying up their debt to private money lenders to get out of the debt trap, but that has not been heeded by the Finance Minister,'' he said.

The BJP member said the Rs 60,000 loan waiver was not going to benefit the really distressed farmers as most of them had borrowed money from private money lenders and held more than two hectares of land, which is above the ceiling laid in the waiver offer for small and marginal farmers.

Mr Shourie also rubished the government claims on the work done in the Rural Employment Scheme, the Integrated Child Development Scheme.

He said most of the schemes announced in the budget were old, but re-packaged and presented in a new format.

The BJP Member also came down heavily on the government over the food security. Mr Shourie said the food stock buffer was today lower than the norm which were set in order to instill a psychological caution among private players that if they increased price of foodgrains, the government might intervene.

UNI NAZ SB RAI1858