MemberParliament from Patiala Preneet Kaur on Tuesday while speaking on thediscussion on the Finance Bill urged the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman toimmediately revive the MPLAD fund saying that, "It is a due right that weparliamentarians have to try and satisfy the needs of our constituency".She also reiterated her appeal to the finance minister of enhancing thesalaries of Asha workers who were our frontline workers during pandemic period.
OnAgriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess added by the FM in the UnionBudget 2021-22, Preneet Kaur pointed out that the cess will have a negative impactwhile affecting fiscal federalism and reducing the states' revenue sharegreatly and compromise their the ability to maintain their mandate ofdevelopment.
Shealso pointed out that the Finance Bill 2021 contains a number of provisionsthat may not strictly meet the definition of a Money Bill, as these provisionsdo not relate to taxes, borrowing of money from the Government, nor expenditureor receipts involving the Consolidated Fund of India.
"Pushingsuch proposals through the Finance Bill can only be seen as an attempt to evadeParliamentary scrutiny as in the case of a Money Bill the Rajya Sabha does nothave rights to reject or amend it. It is quite like the Ordinance route adoptedby the government to push important legislation, bypassing Parliamentaryscrutiny," she regretted.
Whilespeaking about the impact of pandemic on country's economy she pointed outthat, "Our agricultural sector was the only silver lining while everyother sector of our economy was impacted by the pandemic. And this was possibleonly because of the hardworking farmers and farm labour of the country. Thesame farmers who have been peacefully and patiently protesting for their dueand just demands."
Talkingabout the tax relief for salaried class which was expected from the government,the Patiala M.P. said that "Contrary to huge expectations, no relief hasbeen provided to taxpayers, as standard deduction for the salaried andpensioners remains the same as before. Even though more than 2.1 crore salariedjobs were lost during the various phases of the lockdown and many of those whodid manage to retain their jobs did so at the cost of deep cuts in pay andincentives."
Callingthe Finance Minister's proposition of exemption to senior citizens misleading,she pointed out that "The Finance Minister's proposition to exempt seniorcitizens of 75 years age and above from filing their income tax returns, is anillusion as well, since the concessions proposed by the Finance Minister arenot unconditional and neither do they imply any exemption from income tax, aswas mistakenly presumed by many in a moment of glee. The exemption, in fact, isfrom filing returns subject to certain conditions."