Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha's Scathing Criticism of Union Budget 2024-25
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha launched a scathing attack on the Union government's Budget 2024-25, accusing it of imposing heavy taxes on citizens while delivering services comparable to those of Somalia.
Chadha, in his address to Parliament on July 25, stated that the government has burdened the common people with excessive taxes over the past decade. He drew a stark comparison, saying, "We in India today pay taxes like England to get services like Somalia."
The AAP MP further criticized the government's decision to remove indexation benefit on the sale of old property, claiming it would encourage the inflow of black money. He urged the government to conduct a comprehensive review of the tax framework and offered eight suggestions for improvement.
Chadha also highlighted the discontent among all sections of society, including BJP supporters, regarding the Budget. He attributed the BJP's reduced number of seats in the Lok Sabha to its economic policies, stating that the people had "imposed 18 percent GST on the seats."
He elaborated on the reasons behind the BJP's plight, citing the decadal low growth in rural income, rising rural inflation, unemployment, low crop yield, income inequality, and farmer debt. He added that the government's unfulfilled promises to double farmers' income and provide MSP as per the Swaminathan Commission had led to a continuous decline in rural wages.
Chadha expressed strong disapproval of the government's decision to remove indexation on long-term capital gains, arguing that it would discourage investors and lead to excessive corruption in the real estate sector. He proposed eight suggestions for a comprehensive review of the Budget, including reworking the agricultural pricing formula, providing a legal guarantee to MSP, incentivizing financial savings, reviewing and simplifying GST, adopting cooperative federalism, and continuing GST compensation for states.