BJP lawmakers expect next Budget to provide some sops to people inconvenienced by note recall

NEW DELHI: Now that curtains are down on the winter session of Parliament, the next focus of the Narendra Modi government is the forthcoming Budget. And, going by the prime minister’s recent speeches, the focus this time is likely to be the poor, middle-class and the business community — three categories which have borne the most severe brunt of the demonetisation drive.

Broad hints on this were thrown when Modi told BJP lawmakers on the last day of the Parliament session that his three priorities would be providing welfare for the poor, less exploitation of the middle-class and minimising harassment to the business community.

Several BJP lawmakers whom ET spoke to during the Parliament session said they expected the next Budget to provide some sops to people inconvenienced by the currency ban.

When asked whether the PM was going to make some big-bang populist announcements after the expiry of the 50-day demonetisation period this month end, a source close to Modi said: “He is going to be focused on the Budget till February 1. It is going to be a revolutionary Budget.”

Enhancing planned public expenditure remains another focus with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Jaitley has ramped up Plan expenditure by over 30% from about Rs 4.5 lakh crore at the end of UPA-II with a budgeted estimate of about Rs 5.94 lakh crore during the first two fiscals since Modi came to power. BJP chief Amit Shah, too, is learnt to be rooting for increasing planned expenditure.

During the meeting of BJP’s office bearers on December 15, Shah is learnt to have rooted for substantial ramping up of planned expenditure.