Wednesday, March 1 2006 00:14 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The government's key Left allies today (Feb 28 2006) criticised the Budget for failing to address several vital problems, especially those faced by the peasantry and the unemployed, but said it broadly followed the thrust of the UPA's National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP).

The Left parties also charged the government with ignoring their suggestions to mobilise resources to meet the gap of about Rs 24,000 crore, as the tax proposals intend to raise only around Rs 6,000 crore compared with the projected expenditure of about Rs 30,000 crore.

"The budget has failed to address many of the vital problems of the common people, particularly the peasantry and the unemployed. But it seems it has been prepared the basis of concerns of the NCMP", CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury told sources here.

He said two central problems of the economy - agrarian crisis and unemployment - have not been adequately addressed and pointed out that the proposed outlays for agriculture, health, education and employment generation "are low and inadequate for meeting the NCMP goals."

Yechury said the crucial issue was how the government was going to meet the budgetary gap of Rs 24,000 crore, as it has not heeded to the Left's suggestions on resource mobilisation.

In a similar vein, CPI leader D Raja said the allocations on crucial sectors like agriculture, rural employment guarantee scheme, Bharat Nirman, education and healthcare were "token and not substantial."

The government seems to be suffering from the complacency of an 8.1 per cent GDP growth and investment boom, he said.