Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley sought to be all things to all men and women, even as he responded to the Opposition labelling the Modi government pro-corporate, anti-poor. Simultaneously, he lost no opportunity to slam the UPA government that the BJP-led NDA succeeded.
In a poetic attack on the previous government, Mr. Jaitley said: Kuch to phool khilaye humne, aur kuch phool khilane hai, Mushkil yeh hai bag me ab tak, kaante kai purane hai (Some flowers have blossomed under us, we have to grow many more. But there are still problems in the garden, with thorn of times past). People had resoundingly voted for the BJP last year, he said, as “they wanted the scam, scandal and corruption raj to end.”
Stung by the “anti-poor” label, Mr. Jaitley said poverty elimination and financial inclusion were the government’s priorities. As the BJP government was unable to fulfil its poll promise to bring black money back, the budget promised to deal with the problem in this very session by enacting a law. Criticism of the government’s inability to stop the vandalisation of churches saw Mr. Jaitley promising to refurbish the churches and convents of Old Goa.
Appreciation The quotation he concluded with from the Upanishad summed up the superhuman effort to expand the budgetary exercise to all citizens: Om Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah..Sarve Santu Nir—Aamayaah..Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih (May All Be Happy, May All Be Free From Illness, May All See What is Beneficial, May No One Suffer).
Mr. Jaitley’s speech was heard intently by a packed Lok Sabha, with ruling party MPs and Cabinet colleagues thumping their desks often in appreciation.
Curiously, two non-NDA MPs who joined in cheering Mr. Jaitley on were Pinaki Mishra and Jay Panda of the Biju Janata Dal. Most of the visitors’ galleries — Speaker’s, Rajya Sabha and General — were full, the only exception being the Diplomats’ Gallery.
Mr. Jaitley’s speech was also heard by sister Madhu Bhargava and niece Punita seated in the Speaker’s gallery. Conspicuous by her absence was Mrs. Jaitley who is in New York for treatment.
There were a few interruptions by the Opposition. A brief war of words occurred between the Opposition and the treasury benches when Mr. Jaitley, announcing an additional outlay of Rs. 5,000 crore for the MNREGA, said it should bring cheer to Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge. But when Mr. Kharge rose to respond, BJP MPs shouted him down.
Again, the Opposition greeted the Finance Minister’s announcement of a reduction in corporate tax with jeers. And the scheme to protect nine heritage sites saw MPs from the States left out jumping to their feet, demanding similar facilities.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi sat impassively through the speech as is his wont. But when Mr. Jaitley spoke of a proposal to bring yoga within the ambit of charitable activities under Section 2(15) of the Income Tax Act, he was seen smiling and thumping his desk enthusiastically.
Mr. Jaitley, 62, spoke for nearly 100 minutes. He started his speech standing, which is customary, but 22 minutes later, he sought Speaker Sumitra Mahajan’s permission to sit down. Last year, Mr. Jaitley had to take a break in his speech because of ill-health. This year, 20 minutes into his speech, the Speaker herself told Mr. Jaitley that he could speak while sitting. He thanked her and said he would seek her permission when he required it. Two minutes later, he sought permission to sit. As he sat down, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari vacated his seat to make way for him, shifting to the fourth row. Mr. Modi then directed a Lok Sabha staffer to shift his glass of water closer to the Finance Minister. He was also provided with coffee.
Before the proceedings began, Mr. Jaitley walked across to the Opposition benches to shake hands with Mr. Kharge and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh; he also greeted Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
As soon as Mr. Jaitley arrived, BJP veteran L.K. Advani, who sits next to him, patted him on the back. After his speech, BJP MPs crowded around Mr. Jaitley to congratulate him.
Word analysis A word frequency analysis of the speech is revealing: the word ‘poor’ occurred 15 times, ‘poverty’ nine, ‘corporate’ 13 times, ‘industry’ five times, ‘rich’ twice, ‘wealthy’ once and ‘middle class’ six times. And ‘reforms’? Just twice, leading a Congress leader to describe the budget as “risk-averse”.
Taxation 
