Hon.
Chairman Sir, I thank you for giving me an opportunity to participate in the
discussion on the Supplementary Demands for Grants moved by the hon. Finance
Minister in this House. At the very outset, let me express my strong objection
and disapproval of the Finance Minister’s statement that the hon. Members who
raised doubts about the nation’s economic performance are jealous of our
country’s increasing economy. I would like to tell the hon. Finance Minister
that nobody is jealous of India’s economy or India’s progress and it is not
just the BJP which can stake claim to100
the nation’s economic development. Every single Indian citizen has the right to
question anyone in the Executive including the Prime120 Minister, the Finance Minister or any Cabinet
Minister for that matter. It is called democracy where people’s rights are
supreme.140 We, the Members of
Parliament, are the representatives of people’s will, India’s voice and the
symbols of India’s poor and160
downtrodden. So, you should not be antagonistic to expressions of dissent and counter-arguments
as we are still living in democratic republic of India. Now, let me come to the
main points of debate wherein the Finance Minister has claimed200 that Indian economy is undergoing a
reset and we are growing faster than ever, our currency is growing, and India
is the fastest-growing economy. If this is the case, then we are not jealous, but
we are worried that240 the
Finance Minister is relying upon window dressing instead of addressing the deep
wounds of India’s working class, the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes,
unemployed men and women, and more significantly the owners of small and medium
businesses. They280 are
committing suicide as they are suffering the triple attack of demonetization,
faulty GST, and COVID-19 wherein300
the Government of India did not do anything to address the concerns of these
classes. Hon. Finance Minister is so320
confident of the Indian economy. But India’s growth projections for the
Financial Year 2024 as estimated by the World Bank is 6.6 per cent. It can be
seen that most global financial and rating agencies360 have downgraded India’s growth estimates
sharply. Some are even projecting a growth rate below five per cent for the
next fiscal year. This means that there is concern about India’s economic performance
among the world’s leading rating agencies who keep400 track of India’s economic development
and performance. I would also state that Nomura rating agency in one of its
latest420 reports said that India’s
growth rate cycle has peaked and a broad-based slowdown is underway. Various
reports state that revenue growth has already started slowing down, GST
revenues have flattened with inflation, and there is a fall in import growth
and corporate profits. Another area where the Government has failed is disinvestment.
The Government is finding it difficult480
to achieve the disinvestment target of Rs. 65,000 crore in the current fiscal
year.
The
Government of Kerala has500
been pressurising the Central Government to get a sanction from the Finance Ministry
as well as the Ministry of Railways for the Silver Line project. That is highly
objectionable. The said project is anti-people. That is why I would request the
hon. Finance Minister that the Silver Line project should not get clearance
from the Government of India. Kerala’s560
requests with respect to Vande Bharat Train, All India Institute of Medical
Sciences, and a railway zone, have not been considered. During the floods of
2018, the Central Government had provided rice and wheat as flood relief. Now,600 the Central Government is asking Kerala
to pay for the materials allotted as flood relief. That is very objectionable. Hon.
Chairperson, Sir, Andhra Pradesh is also an important State when it comes to
NRIs. The Malayalis in Gulf640
countries are earning crores and crores of rupees for the Government of India.
After COVID, lakhs of Malayalis returned from Gulf countries. But there is no rehabilitation
package for those Gulf returnees in Kerala. So many proposals have been given in
this regard. Now, I come to natural rubber. The price of natural rubber is
falling day by day. Earlier,700
small and marginal farmers were getting Rs. 240 per kilogram to Rs. 250 per
kilogram. Now, they are720
getting Rs. 100 per kilogram or Rs. 140 per kilogram. How will they cultivate
rubber? How will they survive in this situation? In Kerala, cashew industry is
also facing a serious crisis. There is no financial support from the Government
of India to revive the cashew industry. The cashew industry is also bringing
crores and crores of foreign exchange into India. But at the same time, the
Government of India is not supporting the cashew workers as well as800 the entrepreneurs. That is also a big
issue in Kerala. In my Parliamentary Constituency, farmers are in distress.
There is no package for paddy farmers in my constituency. I would request the
hon. Minister of Finance that in the840
next Budget, an amount of Rs. 1,000 crore be allocated in the Budget proposals
for the paddy farmers in my constituency.
Sir,
The Government of India is going to start 140 medical colleges. My
Parliamentary Constituency is a very backward constituency. I would request the
Government of India to set up one medical college in my Parliamentary
Constituency.900 Now, I come to Sabarimala. You are very much
aware of Sabarimala. Devotees from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and other
parts of the country come to Sabarimala. Sabarimala is a part of my constituency.
The pilgrims of Sabarimala are facing a lot of problems. Every day, lakhs of
devotees are coming from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka. But ample
facilities960 are not provided
to devotees. So, the Government of India and the State Government of Kerala
should come forward to980 make
a package or to prepare Sabarimala Action Plan for providing facilities to the
pilgrims.
Sir,
I rise to support1000 the Supplementary
Demands for Grants for 2022-23 and Demands for Excess Grants for 2019-20. Sir, I
will be brief and crisp since the time given to me is very limited. Sir, let me
start with the issues of my State of Andhra Pradesh. This issue has been going
on for the last three years. The farmers of 29 villages who had given 33,000
acres of fertile agricultural land for1080
the development of the capital city of Amaravati have been on a protest since
December, 2019. They have been1100
fighting to ensure that Amaravati is made the sole capital of Andhra Pradesh,
and that the promises made by the1120
Government of India are fulfilled. In a few days from now, we are going to mark
three years of protest. There has never been such a long protest by farmers for
their rights in the country. I appeal to the hon. Prime Minister to announce
that Amaravati will remain the capital of Andhra Pradesh. I also request the
hon. Finance Minister to provide funds for the development of Amaravati as all
the development projects are held up. I would also1200 like to raise the issue of Polavaram,
the lifeline of Andhra Pradesh. The completion of the project will turn our
State into a lush green State and also meet the drinking water requirements of
the entire State. Therefore, I urge the hon. Finance Minister to approve the revised
estimate of Rs. 55,548 crore as recommended1260
by TAC which includes the cost of land acquisition and relief and
rehabilitation for the people displaced due to the project. Finally, Sir, I
request the hon. Finance Minister to release the funds for the 18 commitments
mentioned in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. I would also like to remind
the Government that this is the final Budget that is going to be presented
before the 10-year deadline mentioned in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act
comes to a close. Therefore, all the commitments made by this House through
this Act should be fulfilled. The next Budget is extremely important for us.
Therefore, I request the hon. Finance Minister to start releasing funds to
ensure that all the promises made in the Act to five crore people of Andhra
Pradesh are fulfilled.
Sir,
now, I come to the1400
Supplementary Demands for Grants and the Demands for Excess Grants. Firstly,
the hon. Finance Minister has sought Rs.1.09 lakh crore for fertilizer subsidy
to the farmers. This increase in fertilizer subsidy is primarily due to
geopolitical1440 reasons and logistic
issues that have arisen due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Both are the major
suppliers of fertilizers to India and the war between them has disrupted the
flow of fertilizers. This demand is also justified since it is meant for
farmers. But here, I wish to make a point that the hon. Prime Minister said on
record that1500 we need about
Rs. 2.5 lakh crore for fertilizers. If you add Rs.1.05 lakh crore provisioned
as fertilizer subsidy in 2022-23 Budget with Rs.1.09 lakh crore proposed now,
it comes to about Rs.2.14 lakh crore. So, I would be grateful if the hon.
Minister can explain how she is going to fill the gap of around Rs. 36,000
crore. The next demand is about Rs. 30,000 crore towards payment of LPG subsidy
to OMCs and the subsidy under Ujjwala scheme.
1598
