Railway Budget: 'Bengal bias' plays to Mamata's poll script

NEW DELHI: Delivering perhaps the longest-ever budget speech by a rail minister, Mamata Banerjee was speaking on the Kolkata Rail Vikas Corporation when the Bihar contingent erupted. 

When Banerjee claimed that the corporation "will kickstart Kolkata's return to its glory", MPs belonging to JD(U) and BJP from Bihar protested against the discrimination against their state. "Why don't you shout when I announce things for Hyderabad and Gujarat or Kerala. Why is it that you scream only when I mention Bengal," Banerjee retorted. 

The aggression failed to cut ice with the complainants, leading to disruptions and a short suspension of proceedings. The hold-up would not have displeased Banerjee one bit. 

In fact, it played to the script that she has in mind for the coming West Bengal elections: paint herself as the saviour of Bengal, someone who has unabashedly used her perch in Rail Bhawan to shower projects on the home state. 

The charges of partiality towards her home state only enhances her persona as the benefactor of Bengal. 

Parochialism, just like nepotism, has never been considered to be a vice in India. But when grafted to a larger cause; for instance, rescuing West Bengal from the morass of backwardness and unemployment, it becomes glamorous and, politically speaking, profitable. 

Banerjee, who used her maiden rail budget to add steel to her campaign to dislodge the Marxists, knows it very well. Which was why moments after protesting that she had wrongly been charged with parochialism, she responded to the same charge with a defiant "I will do it" declaration. That she has no qualms in demonstrating her bias for West Bengal is brought out by her plans for exhibition trains. 

Banerjee knows that she can get away with the brazenness not just because her support is crucial for UPA's survival but also because no one with a stake in Bengal politics can afford to come in her way. That she has reckoned right was evident when CPM's criticism skirted the bias for Bengal. Congress has also to play along for the same reason, although Banerjee kept in mind the party's interests in the poll-bound states of Kerala, Assam and Tamil Nadu, as well as the besieged stronghold of Andhra Pradesh. BJP did protest against what it called the Bengal-centric budget, but that is only because it has bigger stakes elsewhere. 

Source:-http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/rail-budget-2011/Railway-Budget-Bengal-bias-plays-to-Mamatas-poll-script/articleshow/7578405.cms

FM may raise tax exemption limit to Rs 2 lakh

NEW DELHI: With an eye on improving the public mood ahead of crucial polls in five states, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee appears set to appease the middle class as well as UPA`s aam aadmi constituency. 

An increase in the income tax exemption limit from Rs 1.6 lakh to Rs 2 lakh is expected to be part of Mukherjee`s Union budget speech on Monday. Though the exemption limit is Rs 1.6 lakh, this year, there is an additional benefit of Rs 20,000 for those who invest in infrastructure bonds. 

The benefit available for investment in these bonds is expected to continue though Mukherjee, who will present his third budget in his second innings in finance ministry, is unlikely to heed demands for a Rs 50,000 benefit for investment in these instruments. 

The veteran politician is also likely to announce a debt relief scheme for weavers who draw largely from the Muslim community and are a sizeable constituency in poll-bound Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, besides states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. 

The amnesty may cost the Centre Rs 3,400 crore and would be similar to the Rs 70,000-crore debt waiver scheme for farm loans which is said to have turned the tide for UPA in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. 

Heir-apparent Rahul Gandhi led a party delegation to Mukherjee on the weavers` scheme on Wednesday, lending weight to the demand. His authorship on the relief for minorities is part of an extended campaign for organisational revival in Uttar Pradesh which goes to poll next year. 

That powerloom and handloom weavers are also present in Tamil Nadu, which goes to polls in April, makes the proposed waiver a key election sop. It would be a magnet for the ruling DMK and textiles minister Dayanidhi Maran is learnt to have lobbied hard. 

Tax exemptions on cotton and silk yarns may add to weavers` relief. 

Congress circles are hoping that the budget will help beat down the perception of UPA`s decline, somewhat alleviate the pain of prices and turn people`s attention away from the scams that have eroded the goodwill that the Manmohan Singh regime enjoyed in 2009. 

The goodies will form part of Congress`s political outreach for key social groups in the backdrop of unrest over inflation. 

As per political calculations, the higher exemption limit may help blunt the pressure on the government from middle class which is weighed down by the burden of high inflation, which latest numbers put above 8%. Despite some moderation, food inflation remains above 11% and has upset monthly calculations for most households in the country.

Though the government could lose some revenue due to higher exemptions, the estimate is that higher growth will help rake in more revenue besides keeping fiscal deficit under check. 

Estimates suggest that the economy, despite the burden of higher interest rates and the spike in oil and metal prices, would grow at around 9%, helping the government to stay on course to achieve the fiscal deficit target of 4.8% of GDP

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Source:-http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/FM-may-raise-tax-exemption-limit-to-Rs-2-lakh/articleshow/7567189.cms

Cabinet rejig with eye on polls

NEW DELHI: Congress seized the reshuffle window to rev up its election machine in Uttar Pradesh and Kerala by broadbasing participation from these states in the Union ministry.

The elevation of Salman Khurshid and Sriprakash Jaiswal and induction of Beni Prasad Verma as steel minister have upped the share of UP in the Cabinet to put it on a par with its political heft. (Read: PM inducts 3 new ministers, drops none )

K V Thomas's surprise elevation as food and consumer affairs minister and the filling of Shashi Tharoor's slot is another leg-up for the party in Kerala which takes on the Left Front in May polls. Giving temporary charge of civil aviation to Vyalar Ravi and making K C Venugopal junior minister for power fits the 'K C Venugopal' pattern.

Sources said the focus on short-term political battles in the reshuffle, which was expected to be a performance appraisal of UPA-2, underlined the importance of the coming polls in the party matrix.

Congress is banking heavily on victories in Kerala and Assam where it is the main player to turn the tide after the negativity of scams.

Victories on ally turfs such as West Bengal and Tamil Nadu would supplement party strategy. UP polls would also decide the fate of the party's revival attempt in the 80-seat state and give a peep into the possibilities of 2014 Lok Sabha battle.

The rejig seeks to broadbase Congress's UP outreach. A position to Verma can renew the party's appeal among OBCs. Verma's entry in the power echelons is a snub to Samajwadi Party, his home before the high-voltage rebellion against Mulayam Singh Yadav in 2007.

Verma's gain compounds Mulayam's woes because he too is eyeing a power perch at the Centre to rival the clout of an imperious Mayawati. His PMO visit on Monday evening had set tongues wagging in the Congress camp.

A cabinet rank for Khurshid aims to neutralise SP's bid to dent Congress among Muslims. SP's Azam Khan has accused Congress of denying the community its due share in power with only Kashmir's Congress among Muslimshaving Cabinet status. Khurshid's elevation sets right the balance.

Congress has lent weight of key portfolios to Kerala leaders to add to its momentum in the Left-held state. Autonomous charge of food and consumer affairs to Thomas and civil aviation to Ravi are steps in that direction.

The criticality of Kerala in Congress matrix stems from the prospect of double whammy for Left in Bengal and Kerala. A defeat-induced disarray in Left camp can soften the Red resistance in Delhi which will be big relief for the cornered Congress.

The political subtext of the rejig in UP follows a realisation in Congress that the waning of post-2009 mood after scams and price rise will test its bare cupboard of leaders and appeal among caste groups. Though Rahul Gandhi leads a campaign among dalits who are loyal to Mayawati, the key to party success in the state lies with Muslims, OBCs and upper castes.

Also read: PM will now keep a sharper eye on key economic ministries

Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Cabinet-rejig-with-eye-on-polls/articleshow/7323296.cms