BJP terms budget as ''anti-people''

Kozhikode, June 23 (UNI) Describing the revised budget proposals presented by Kerala Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac to the state assembly as ''anti-people and disappointing,'' the BJP today said it was another severe jolt on the common man, hit hard by the recent hike in the prices of petroleum products.

The new tax structure proposed in the revised budget for 2006-07 would be another blow to the common man reeling under the spiralling prices of essential commodities caused by increase in the tariff of petroleum products, party Kerala president P S Sreedhran Pillai told reporters here.

Stating that the proposals were almost a dito copy of the one presented by the previous UDF government, he said there was no adequate allocation for developmental projects or creation of new job avenues, he said.

''The previous budget proposals were presented by Mr Vakkom Purushothaman and now it was Thomas Isaac. That is the only difference,'' he lamented.

The Malabar Chamber of Commerce (MCC) said the Rs 716.56 crore deficit budget presented by the new LDF government was ''totally disappointing.'' The deficit would go up if the government failed to recover taxes as planned, the MCC said in a release.

It said although the proposals envisoned a 10 per cent growth no adequate allocation had been made for industrial development in the state.

The government which promised to boost tourism sector in Malabar region allocated only Rs one crore for the Bekal tourism project against an estimated of Rs 1,000 crore, it said.

The proposals to levy tax by deviating from the Value Added Tax (VAT) norms was against the interest of the trade and industry as a whole, said Calicut Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

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