BUDGET 2010-11: LAST MAN'S PERSPECTIVE

I am not a Gandhian nor do I have absolute faith in Gandhian philosophy but I do admire Gandhiji's idea of uplift of the last man of society. I do believe this is the ultimate test of governance in any society. If a government is able to reach and listen to the pain of the last man of society then the government deserves the mandate to rule and make policies for the whole nation. And here Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and for that matter the UPA government failed to clear the test.

Mukherjee's budget is by no means a path breaking budget and people have evaluated it largely on the premise of which side of the table they are sitting. That the Budget proposals are good for corporate houses is evident from the immediate response from the sensex which hardly reflects the health of our economy and wealth of a common man. Budget is a statement on how the county will be governed financially in the next one year. I would like to consider a few proposals given by our finance minister.

Mukherjee talks of bringing second green revolution in eastern states, precisely, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa. And he thinks Rs 400 crore for four states that are agriculturally backward is good enough to achieve that! This is not prudent, pragmatic, well-intentioned and economic budgeting. This is political budgeting and it cannot serve the interests of the last man of our society. On the top of it, that man is battling with very high food prices which have not been taken care of in Pranabda's budget.

Arguments were put forth by people of all sides on whether budget is the right tool to tame soaring inflation. I do believe, being an annual financial statement budget must address the day-to-day financial problems of the people, of the nation. For long term planning, we have a Planning Commission and also a National Development Council which some people have forgotten that it ever existed. Here too politics is eating up economics. In an age of utmost media scrutiny and unimaginable reach made possible by media, every finance minister tends to become more political than humane and economic. The last man suffers in consequence.

However, the most important thing from aam aadmi's perspective is the hike in petrol and diesel prices. A five percent basic duty and a hike of Re.1 per litre resulted in petrol costing nearly Rs 3 more per litre. And, this is state economics that hits the common man the hardest. Pranab Mukherjee's proposals will ensure that all the articles get dearer in the next one year because the transportation cost for almost everything will go up. Even the railway transportation will go costlier despite the fact that Mamata Banerjee refused to show fiscal prudence by not hiking passenger fare and freight charges.

To add, we have shortage of foodgrains available in the market with the purchasing power that we individually enjoy today. Our public distribution system shows no sign of improvement and it is sure that it won't go on corrected lines during 2010-11 fiscal. This means that the fight for Roti is going to only intensify in the ensuing year. For service sector earning people especially those on the higher side of tax slabs, Mr Finance Minister has given some relief to counter that intensifying struggle for existence but the common man, forget the last man, will only become commoner in the coming year. This would further swing the (im)balance in favour of the heavier side.

If this is the budget for an aam aadmi, it is no surprise that he does not feel for the budget that has become a mere ritual for the country to follow. And if this is so, I raise a fundamental question, do we need a finance minister in our country? This democracy is run by the parliamentarians and other legislators only in name but the real carrier of this largest democracy is our Last Men who are in millions but still wanting. This sums up our governance and perhaps democracy as well.