NEW DELHI: The Union Budget to be presented in Parliament on Wednesday is going to be a major guiding force for the government to not only put India in the global scheme of things in the economic context but will also propel the ruling BJP to take the centrality of the budgetary proposals to the people across the country where the general election is barely 16 months away.
BJP’s rising ambition to project India as a global economic player while remaining firmly entrenched at home appears to be a part of a carefully crafted strategy of the party whose contours were available at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s brief interaction with the media on Tuesday. “The Union Budget will be a ray of hope for the world,” said Modi. “Amid global economic turmoil, India’s Budget will attempt to meet the hopes and aspirations of common citizens,” said the PM.
He said the global attention is also focused on India’s Budget. “In the current economic situation in the world, India’s Budget proposals will not only try to fulfil the hopes and dreams of the common man but will also be a ray of hope which should shine even more brightly for the world.” He expressed optimism that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will make all-out efforts to fulfil these expectations.
The Prime Minister emphasised that his government’s priorities will centre on India first. “Nation first, citizens first,’’ he said. He also profusely praised President Droupadi Murmu’s address to the joint sitting of Parliament. “The President’s speech is the pride of the Constitution of India, and in today’s context, an it is occasion to respect the great tribal traditions of our country”.
He also requested the opposition members to come well prepared in Parliament. “I am confident that our friends in Opposition will present their views after studying the topics,” Modi said. The PM’s thrust on global repercussions of the Budget proposals was taken forward by the BJP in the national context, indicating the party’s preparedness for the 2024 polls. The party will run a nationwide campaign on the Budget with party chief JP Nadda forming a 9-member committee to oversee the exercise.
Sushil Kumar Modi, Bihar’s former deputy chief minister and finance minister who is currently a Rajya Sabha MP, is the point person to run the campaign called ‘Discussion on Budget’ across the country between February 1 and 12.
Sushil Kumar Modi took to Twitter and said that the campaign was aimed at taking the main points of the Budget to the people down to the block level by organising conferences and discussions on the Budget’s pro-people concerns. Experts such as Sunil Bansal, Tejasvi Surya, Rajkumar Chahar, among others, have been included in the committee.