Shortly after the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government came to power last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi articulated his “Act East” policy to push for stronger economic and strategic ties with countries in South-East Asia. On Saturday, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley took a leaf out of Modi’s book by unveiling his “Act East” policy on the domestic front.
In his first full-fledged budget, the finance minister announced that Bihar and West Bengal will be eligible for special financial assistance. “Bihar and West Bengal are going to be amongst the biggest beneficiaries of the recommendations of the Finance Commission. Yet, the Eastern states have to be given an opportunity to grow even faster. I, therefore, propose to give similar special assistance to Bihar and West Bengal as has been provided by the government of India to the government of Andhra Pradesh,“ Jaitley said.
Although the two Eastern states featured only once in the 46-page budget speech, the political significance of this passing reference can hardly be overlooked.
Political calculations
Bihar and West Bengal are the two states which are being targeted by the BJP as it seeks to expand its footprint beyond its traditional strongholds. Assembly elections are due in Bihar later this year while West Bengal goes to polls early next year.
It is no coincidence that Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has been pressing the chief ministers of the Eastern states to form a bloc to counter the BJP’s growth and also push for special resources from the Modi government. Nitish Kumar has made repeated attempts to reach out to West Bengal and Odisha chief ministers Mamata Banerjee and Naveen Patnaik to form a collective eastern lobby, but his efforts have not made much headway.
Jaitley’s promise to provide special financial assistance to Bihar and West Bengal could well be a counter to Nitish Kumar’s campaign.
After its bitter parting with Nitish Kumar, the BJP is making a determined effort to dislodge his government in Bihar. It is hoping that the Modi wave, which had benefited the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls, will once again work its magic in the upcoming assembly polls. Realising the potential threat posed by a resurgent BJP, Nitish Kumar has been quick to put his house in order. He reached out to his friend-turned-foe Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad Yadav and started working towards the merger of all the erstwhile Janata Dal constituents. With Nitish Kumar and the RJD chief set to put up a united fight in Bihar, the upcoming assembly election is expected to be a fight to the finish.
Taking on Trinamool
While it is raring to take on Nitish Kumar in Bihar, the BJP is also waiting impatiently to spread its wings in neighbouring West Bengal where it is gaining ground and is set to replace the Left parties as the main opposition force in the state.
The BJP has launched an aggressive campaign against the Trinamool Congress and is currently locked in a bitter confrontation with West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who is on the backfoot following the embarrassing details emerging from the Saradha chit fund scam investigation.
However, the BJP has a lot of ground to cover. Its image has taken a beating after its rout in the recent Delhi assembly election. The party is also cornered on the land acquisition ordinance as the message has percolated down to the grassroots that the Modi government is batting for big corporates and acting against the interests of farmers.
As a result, Jaitley made a manful attempt to dispel this growing perception and to infuse greater confidence in his own party cadres as they prepare for their next big electoral challenge.
Reaching out to the poor
The finance minister began his speech by reiterating his government’s commitment to the upliftment of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other poor and marginalised groups.
“Our government firmly believes that development has to generate inclusive growth. While large corporate and business entities have a role to play, these have to be complemented by informal sector enterprises which generate maximum employment,” Jaitely said under the head “Funding the Unfunded”.
Announcing a series of concessions for enterprises owned by SC/ST/OBC, the finance minister proposed the creation of a Micro Units Development Refinance Redevelopment Agency Bank with a corpus of Rs. 20,000 to benefit these “bottom-of-the pyramid” entrepreneurs.
The universal social security system proposed by Jaitley through the government’s Jan Dhan Yojana, the increased allocations for MNREGA and a series of insurance and pensions schemes for the poor and the aged are also aimed at wooing these sections which have been feeling disillusioned with the Modi government.
“Being sensitive to the needs of the poor, under-privileged and the disadvantaged, my government also remains committed to the ongoing welfare schemes for the SCs, STs and women,” Jaitley underlined.
Making up with the middle class
With the Modi government finding itself at the receiving end for not fulfilling its election promise on black money, Jaitley sought to make amends with the announcement of a series of tough measures to deal with this problem.
By unveiling the government’s proposed new law on black money, which includes higher punishment and penalties, the finance minister has attempted to restore his government’s credibility, especially among the middle classes, which had nosedived in recent months when it failed to track down or punish those who have stashed undisclosed wealth abroad.
Jaitley must be hoping that with this renewed intent to crack down on black money, people will forget BJP president Amit Shah’s dismissive response – “Yeh to ek jumla tha” (It was just a phrase) – to repeated reminders that his party had defaulted on its election promise to deposit Rs. 15 lakh in each bank account after it brought back black money from foreign banks. This one remark was among a host of factors which proved to be the BJP’s undoing in the Delhi election.
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In his first full-fledged budget, the finance minister announced that Bihar and West Bengal will be eligible for special financial assistance. “Bihar and West Bengal are going to be amongst the biggest beneficiaries of the recommendations of the Finance Commission. Yet, the Eastern states have to be given an opportunity to grow even faster. I, therefore, propose to give similar special assistance to Bihar and West Bengal as has been provided by the government of India to the government of Andhra Pradesh,“ Jaitley said.
Although the two Eastern states featured only once in the 46-page budget speech, the political significance of this passing reference can hardly be overlooked.
Political calculations
Bihar and West Bengal are the two states which are being targeted by the BJP as it seeks to expand its footprint beyond its traditional strongholds. Assembly elections are due in Bihar later this year while West Bengal goes to polls early next year.
It is no coincidence that Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has been pressing the chief ministers of the Eastern states to form a bloc to counter the BJP’s growth and also push for special resources from the Modi government. Nitish Kumar has made repeated attempts to reach out to West Bengal and Odisha chief ministers Mamata Banerjee and Naveen Patnaik to form a collective eastern lobby, but his efforts have not made much headway.
Jaitley’s promise to provide special financial assistance to Bihar and West Bengal could well be a counter to Nitish Kumar’s campaign.
After its bitter parting with Nitish Kumar, the BJP is making a determined effort to dislodge his government in Bihar. It is hoping that the Modi wave, which had benefited the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls, will once again work its magic in the upcoming assembly polls. Realising the potential threat posed by a resurgent BJP, Nitish Kumar has been quick to put his house in order. He reached out to his friend-turned-foe Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad Yadav and started working towards the merger of all the erstwhile Janata Dal constituents. With Nitish Kumar and the RJD chief set to put up a united fight in Bihar, the upcoming assembly election is expected to be a fight to the finish.
Taking on Trinamool
While it is raring to take on Nitish Kumar in Bihar, the BJP is also waiting impatiently to spread its wings in neighbouring West Bengal where it is gaining ground and is set to replace the Left parties as the main opposition force in the state.
The BJP has launched an aggressive campaign against the Trinamool Congress and is currently locked in a bitter confrontation with West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who is on the backfoot following the embarrassing details emerging from the Saradha chit fund scam investigation.
However, the BJP has a lot of ground to cover. Its image has taken a beating after its rout in the recent Delhi assembly election. The party is also cornered on the land acquisition ordinance as the message has percolated down to the grassroots that the Modi government is batting for big corporates and acting against the interests of farmers.
As a result, Jaitley made a manful attempt to dispel this growing perception and to infuse greater confidence in his own party cadres as they prepare for their next big electoral challenge.
Reaching out to the poor
The finance minister began his speech by reiterating his government’s commitment to the upliftment of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other poor and marginalised groups.
“Our government firmly believes that development has to generate inclusive growth. While large corporate and business entities have a role to play, these have to be complemented by informal sector enterprises which generate maximum employment,” Jaitely said under the head “Funding the Unfunded”.
Announcing a series of concessions for enterprises owned by SC/ST/OBC, the finance minister proposed the creation of a Micro Units Development Refinance Redevelopment Agency Bank with a corpus of Rs. 20,000 to benefit these “bottom-of-the pyramid” entrepreneurs.
The universal social security system proposed by Jaitley through the government’s Jan Dhan Yojana, the increased allocations for MNREGA and a series of insurance and pensions schemes for the poor and the aged are also aimed at wooing these sections which have been feeling disillusioned with the Modi government.
“Being sensitive to the needs of the poor, under-privileged and the disadvantaged, my government also remains committed to the ongoing welfare schemes for the SCs, STs and women,” Jaitley underlined.
Making up with the middle class
With the Modi government finding itself at the receiving end for not fulfilling its election promise on black money, Jaitley sought to make amends with the announcement of a series of tough measures to deal with this problem.
By unveiling the government’s proposed new law on black money, which includes higher punishment and penalties, the finance minister has attempted to restore his government’s credibility, especially among the middle classes, which had nosedived in recent months when it failed to track down or punish those who have stashed undisclosed wealth abroad.
Jaitley must be hoping that with this renewed intent to crack down on black money, people will forget BJP president Amit Shah’s dismissive response – “Yeh to ek jumla tha” (It was just a phrase) – to repeated reminders that his party had defaulted on its election promise to deposit Rs. 15 lakh in each bank account after it brought back black money from foreign banks. This one remark was among a host of factors which proved to be the BJP’s undoing in the Delhi election.
