For a party and government that has traditionally been identified as pro-business, projecting a pro-poor face in its maiden full budget is a departure. This has led to more than a couple of raised eyebrows. Budget 2015-16 had welfare measures and benefits for the poor and marginalised sprinkled all over it, albeit in small measures. Even in his 90-minute budget speech, Union finance minister Arun Jaitley referred to the poor and their welfare 15 times.
The FM, among others in the government, was under tremendous pressure from its cadre organisations such as the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), the Bharat Krishak Samaj (BKS) and the Bharat Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), and even the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), to not just look into the issues that affect the poor and the marginalised but also project an image that was seen championing their cause. For it was on the plank of employment and improvement of the condition of the masses that the party received such a thumping majority in the Lok Sabha elections last year.
As it turns out, a number of the welfare measures for the poor were the suggestions of cadre organisations like the SJM; some were even designed and dictated by them into the budget proposals. This has put the BJP in a bind between its pro-corporate sector stand and the view of some of its constituent cadres. Says RSS old-timer N. Govindacharya, “Arun Jaitley is in a mental conflict. He is facing a cadre-supported pressure that is pro-poor while his own mindset is pro-rich. So he has only reluctantly adjusted Rs 5,000 crore for the poor (the promise of additional funds to NREGA).”
Obviously, the government has not been able to ignore these loud suggestions. One of the biggest manifestations of the pressure that the BJP has been facing from the ranks has been the Mudra Bank, which is aimed at microfinance for the small entrepreneur with a focus on the Scheduled Castes and Tribes. According to sources, the suggestion to establish such an organisation focused on the small sector was ‘dictated’ by the SJM, more precisely, from its ideologue S. Gurumurthy, who is said to have single-handedly crafted the nature and scope of this proposed organisation.
In fact, the BJP had to factor in many other small proposals like the prime minister’s irrigation project, the Atal Pension Scheme and the soil health card schemes, which were brought into the budget under specific suggestions and pressure from the cadres, though the funds allocated to these schemes are minuscule compared to their target group. The PM’s irrigation scheme, for instance, has been given just over Rs 5,000 crore in the budget while the requirement is much more.
Obviously, the cadres are unhappy at the treatment many of their suggestions have been met with in the budget and are already hitting the streets in protest. Some of them are particularly annoyed that the corporate sector has still received the cream of the proposals. Officially, the RSS and its affiliates maintain that the FM under the “able guidance” of Prime Minister Modi has done a good job of the budget. Internally though, whispers of the budget “not being pro-poor” are already doing the rounds.
The SJM, for instance, has not taken kindly to the concessions given to the corporate sector. Says SJM national co-convenor Ashwani Mahajan, “The present system of taxation, which has evolved in the last 25 years with concessions to the corporate sector, should go. Today, the corporate sector accounts for more than Rs 70,000 crore in exemptions. In such a scenario, it was not a prudent step to reduce corporate tax from 30 to 25 per cent.”
A senior pracharak from Nagpur adds, “NREGA has been diluted. The land bill surely doesn’t look pro-farmer. In all these months, what we have heard are only slogans and announcements. I am told we will have to wait another 6-8 months to understand what has been done for the poor. So, let’s wait and watch.” Adds another RSS leader, “The budget, from what I understand, was a statement to revalidate the government’s policies. There is nothing pro-poor that I see in it.”
The BJPs cadre and affiliate organisations have also been urging it to adopt an egalitarian approach where the wealth distribution, currently horribly skewed in favour of the rich, is corrected. Organisations like the SJM have been pushing the BJP to take a middle path between distribution and growth, tilted in the poor’s favour. “We have to make a paradigm shift to encourage small and marginalised people. The government was advised to keep this in mind in framing proposals,” says Mahajan.
As expected, the ranks are not satisfied with what the party has done. Says Govindacharya, “While the government has shown intent, it is meaningless if it is not followed with action. How much money is being given to the panchayats, for instance? This will lead to dissatisfaction of the constituents. If the government is not for labour, not for health, education or literacy, what is it for?”
The protesters are already hitting the streets. The BKS and BMS are planning an agitation—the former is holding national meetings in Aurangabad and Belgaum later this month to discuss their next course of action; the BMS has already held a nationwide protest on March 2 and is chalking out future strategy. A bku-led march is scheduled on March 18.
Says BMS general secretary Vrijesh Upadhyay, “We have to look at the interest of the working class. The budget did not do anything for labour. Measures like pension and insurance schemes would only create business for the insurance companies. How will the workers benefit? We expect the party to look at the workers’ interest now. Otherwise, they will have to face the consequences.”
The BKS, another BJP affiliate focused on farmers, is also unhappy as despite their suggestions, the budget did little for the farmers. Says BKS president Krishan Bir Chaudhary, “They have paid only lip service by showing a pro-poor face without giving them much. They haven’t taken any positive attitude towards agriculture despite the fact that it is a question of survival for the marginal farmer. Agriculture’s share in GDP is 14 per cent but the budget doesn’t reflect that.”
While the FM accommodated many suggestions of its cadres and affiliate organisations, he has left much to be desired. The current budget session can be an opportunity for him to make amends and avoid angering organisations that form the rank and file of the party. As for the BJP’s position, an insider put it best, “They’re like an orchestra where everyone runs the compulsion of singing the same tune. With a leader who gave us 282 seats, there can be nothing else but chorus in praise.”
By Arindam Mukherjee with Prarthna Gahilote
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