Govt has communalised the Budget: BJP

New Delhi, Mar 12 (UNI) Accusing the Centre of communalising the General Budget, the Opposition BJP today said the UPA government would turn India into an Islamic Republic if it had its way.

''So many scholarships have been announced for the Muslims that it seems that the term minorities for the government means only Muslims.... The Budget has been communalised for the first time,'' BJP deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha Vijay Kumar Malhotra said, initiating the discussion on the Budget 2007-08 vote on account.

''You can turn India into an Islamic Republic, if you had your way,'' Mr Malhotra said, referring to the government.

''There should be an equality commission instead of the Minorities Commission to bring about equality in society,'' he remarked.

He said the Budget, on the other hand, had failed to mention black money, internal security, special schemes for women and the poor, training and employment programmes for the youth, and steps to control price rise and check farmers suicides.

Stating that a parallel economy was being run with black money, Mr Malhotra cited newspaper reports about Rs 35,000 crore of illegal money, allegedly belonging politicians, ministers, bureaucrats and terrorists, stashed by one Hassan Ali in 10 foreign accounts.

''Why don't you come out with the names of the politicians involved,'' Mr Malhotra asked and urged the government to expose the corrupt.

He also took the government to task for not announcing any measures for the recovery of Rs 54,000 crore of bank loans taken by big industrialists, and 1,40,000 crore of income tax arrears.

''The government should bring in a law to realise the arrears and the non performing assets,'' he said.

He also wanted to know why the Budget ignored internal security when the government had gone on record saying that there were threats to the country's vital installations from terrorists.

Pointing out that the allocation for sports was only 0.25 per cent of the total Budget, he also urged the government to spend more on training of youth rather than giving tax incentives to big hotels in the run-up to the Commonwealth Games.

''It is foreign exposure and coaches which will bring medals,'' he said.

EDS: Here pick up suitably from earlier series.

UNI