Tuesday, March 1 2005 16:49 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The Communist Party of India (CPI) today (Mar 1, 2005) lashed out at the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government for laying heavy reliance on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and following a "regressive" taxation policy in the Union Budget, but ruled out doing anything that could augur the return of Atal Bihari Vajpayee as Prime Minister.

"We are not in a mood to make Atal Bihari Vajpayee as Prime Minister again," CPI leader Gurudas Das Gupta said, when asked whether the party would bring cut motions on certain measures in the budget.

Asserting that the Left party was against the return to power of "communal forces" responsible for the post-Godhra violence, he said that whatever the reservations the party would have about the budget proposals it would raise its voice both inside and outside Parliament.

Das Gupta, who is also Deputy Leader of the party in the Lok Sabha, lauded some of the features of the budget like large investment for Food for Work Programme; move to generate 100 days employment for one person in each family and hefty investment in social sector.

"No Government so far has taken a positive feature on improving social infrastructure as this Government has done," he said.

The total investment in the social sector appeared to be Rs 26,500 crore along with a corpus of Rs 8,000 crore for rural infrastructure development fund. If accompanied by land reforms the investment in social sector could give the desired benefits, he said.

However, CPI has "basic difference" with the approach of the Government, Das Gupta said, adding that there was no move to improve the tax-GDP ratio, mobilise domestic resources, taxing those who have a capacity to pay and other measures to turn the wheel of economy.

"By relying on FDI flow rolling out unreasonable concessions to the foreign corporates, the Government is trying to make up the shortfall in resources, in our opinion, is too dangerous to be overlooked," he said.

The Government lacked political will to increase tax on the corporate sector as also on those earning more than Rs 10 lakhs and at the same time broaden the tax base, Das Gupta said.

"While corporate sector has been given tax relief of three per cent, an across the board concession to the rich income earning sections, it has imposed fringe benefit tax on the working population. Is it equity?"

The move to reform the banking sector, "virtually handing over national saving deposited in the banks" to foreign corporates and domestic private sector was fraught with grave danger, he said.