Govt should give more concessions to middle class in income tax: Praful Patel

The government should offer more concessions to the middle class in Income Tax as an exemption limit of up to Rs 3 lakh is not enough Nationalist Congress Party NCP leader Praful Patel said on Tuesday in the Rajya Sabha reported news agency PTIParticipating in a debate on the Union Budget 2024 Patel said Rs 3 lakh is a very small amount If someone earns Rs 40000 in a city like Delhi it is a burden for him to pay even 5 per cent as income tax reported PTIThe Ajit Pawarled NCP is an ally of the BJPled NDAPatel said though the government is trying to widen the tax net after the implementation of GST everyone is directly or indirectly paying taxNow nobody in the country can say that he is not paying tax he said adding There should be some more concessions for a middleclass person to be able to make his necessities reported PTIPatel further said the stock market has become a very effective means of investment for even the middle class Now people have started looking at the stock market to make a little bit extra money as fixed deposits etc are not giving that kind of return reported PTIHowever he suggested some caution in this and said in the budget some steps are taken for the futures and options FampO segmentPatel suggested that the government should take more such steps for FampO in the budget to protect the interests of small investorsDuring the debate RJD member Manoj Jha said the custom of prebudget consultation with the delegations of cleaning workers street hawkers unemployed youths small farmers and even trade unions has stoppedOn prebudget consultation I have seen meetings with industrialists and corporate houses said Jha reported PTIHe demanded that the budget should be relooked from a common mans perspective as income inequality is on the rise in the countryI am not against the accumulation of wealth or rich people but against a vulgar display of wealth which we have seen in recent years he said reported PTIOn schemes such as MNREGA Jha said Rs 86000 crore has been allocated for the rural employment guarantee scheme which is Rs 20000 less than the actual expenditure of Rs 105 lakh crore on this schemeThis will delay in payment of wages and suppression of demand will happen he said adding it will affect the quality of construction reported PTILeader of House J P Nadda stated that it is a noteworthy achievement that after 60 years a prime minister has been chosen for a third consecutive termHe noted that the election result is a mandate for stability continuity good governance and inclusive growthTerming the budget as visionary he said that it addresses the countrys immediate needs and also takes care of longterm requirements reported PTIBhubaneswar Kalita of the BJP said the thrust of the budget is towards youth poor farmers women middle class and infrastructure developmentDinesh Sharma of the BJP stated that the finance minister has presented a balanced budget that is focussed on making India a developed country reported PTIAnil Sukhdeorao Bonde BJP spoke in favour of various government schemes including AgnipathAnother BJP member Bhim Singh noted that this budget has come at a time when Indias stature has grown in the world reported PTIParticipating in the discussion CPIMs A A Rahim attacked the government over the issue of price rise and unemployment reported PTIHe asked the government to fill the jobs lying vacant in the public sectorRahim also pointed out that his state Kerala has been completely neglected in the Union Budget reported PTIAjit Kumar Bhuyan Independent spoke about the deteriorating flood situation in Assam and the lack of government support for relief measures for the state reported PTIA P Selvarasu of the DMK also participated in the discussionWith inputs from PTI