The five major leftist parties in India have put forward an alternative budget proposal for 2025, aiming to address pressing economic and social issues. A week-long nationwide campaign has been launched to promote these proposals, highlighting their focus on wealth redistribution, public welfare, and employment generation.
Key points of the proposal include:
- Introduction of Wealth Tax: An 8% wealth tax and increased corporate tax to reduce economic inequality.
- Agricultural Reform: Fixing fair prices for crops and strengthening agricultural policies within a national framework.
- Halt to Privatization: Stopping the privatization of public sector enterprises and key resources, including insurance, and reversing foreign investment in critical sectors.
- Employment and Welfare Expansion: Increasing rural employment by 50%, ensuring urban job security, and expanding social welfare schemes.
- Health and Education Investment: Raising health expenditure by 3% and education by 6% of GDP.
- Empowering Governance: Decentralizing governance structures and enhancing local administrative capacities.
- Social Justice: Expanding welfare for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, women, and marginalized groups, while improving food security and subsidy programs.
- Tax Reforms: Strengthening tax collection systems and increasing levies on luxury goods and speculative markets, while opposing cuts in public welfare.
The campaign seeks to create public awareness of these alternative measures and pressure the government to adopt more inclusive and people-centric policies in the upcoming Union Budget. Leftist leaders argue that these proposals are essential for combating inequality and fostering sustainable growth in the country.
