'UPA invested Rs 5 lakh crore to win elections'

On Budget day, Former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha says what the country needs are harsh economic policies and not populist handouts

Smileys are making fast rounds. But behind them are the frowns being raised by economic experts, including former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha.
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In a chat with MiD DAY on Saturday, two days before the Budget was presented by Pranab Mukherjee, this is what the senior BJP leader said...

At this point the country needs a courageous Budget. The finance minister and the government of India should be brave enough to take hard decisions as the country's economy is suffering.
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Our economic situation is so poor that the government has no option but to take harsh decisions to improve it. A populist Budget that will please the voter will do more harm than good.

Pranab Mukherjee is capable of making good decisions and has the experience to do so as he has been the finance minister earlier as well.

But it depends on how much freedom his party gives him in tabling a Budget governed by economics and not politics.

Politics has dominated the economic policies of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), and I am sure this time too, it will be the same.

The UPA reduced prices of diesel and petrol just before the general elections but within a month, it hiked the rates. This type of economics is this beyond my understanding.
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If all decisions are taken for the sake of politics, a healthy economy can't survive. The country seems to be paying a big price for bringing the UPA back to power.

Economic crisis

Economic crisis in a country can be brought about by international events and by domestic policies. This (UPA) government is responsible for the economic crisis in the country.u00a0

Though India's Gross Domestic Productu00a0 (GDP) declined drastically, the UPA government maintained the momentum of deficit and brought the deficit level to 10 per cent of the GDP.

This was done only to come back to power. I believe that without cutting the deficit level revival is impossible.
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I don't agree that maximum deficit leads to maximum growth. It will only increase the financial burden of the country.

While economists expected the fiscal deficit to be nil, it was maintained at ten per cent of the GDP, which will amount to about Rs 5 lakh crore. In simple terms, the UPA invested Rs 5 lakh crore to win the elections.
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Rail Budget

I am not happy with the Rail Budget either. It favoured only West Bengal. Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee could have done better but her political roots in West Bengal guided her policies.

Only time will tell if she will reap the benefit of this populist Rail Budget, concluded the senior leader.