Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the General Union Budget of 2021 on Monday. The ruling BJP hopes that this Budget would provide relief to the rural poor, farmers and the middle class facing the wrath of the coronavirus pandemic.

The BJP is hopeful that there would be several major announcements in this Union budget to be presented on February 1 to provide relief to the common man. There may also be announcements related to further simplifying the Goods and Services Tax (GST) process.

Between December 2020 and January 2021, the BJP had interacted with people in different regions across the country and their demands related to the Budget were sought. All this information was made available to Sitharaman. The BJP hopes that the Union Finance ministry would include the necessary suggestions in the Budget.

BJP’s National Spokesperson for Economic Affairs, Gopal Krishna Agarwal, told IANS, “The unorganised sector which has been deprived of government benefits so far could be the primary focus in this Budget. There is a need to increase domestic demand.”

He said all the state units of BJP had given suggestions for the Budget. Most of the suggestions were related to providing relief to the employed and the middle class. During the pandemic crisis, the middle class faced financial problems. While preparing the Budget, suggestions were given for measures related to increasing the savings of the middle class.

Officials in the food industry to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector had said that raw material prices are increasing rapidly, which is also increasing inflation. The BJP has given suggestions to the Finance Minister to work on options for controlling inflation. It is believed that these suggestions could be included in the Budget.

The Union Finance Ministry has been requested to take the initiative to further simplify the complex GST system. The BJP also has many suggestions regarding disinvestment. The party had suggested to the Finance Ministry to emphasise on resource generation.

Agarwal acts as a bridge between the BJP and the central government while dealing with economic affairs. He told IANS, “During the meeting with Sitharaman on December 28, all the suggestions regarding the Budget were discussed. She was given various suggestions related to providing relief to the middle class and the unorganised sector, inflation control, GST and disinvestment.”

The state units of the BJP also sent their suggestions after consulting the stakeholders which were conveyed to the Finance Minister. Budget-related aspirations of every section of society have also been conveyed to Sitharaman and the party hopes the necessary suggestions would be included in the Budget.