BJP senior leader Bandaru Dattatreya, on Friday, described the Budget 2012-13 as an anti-common-man, anti-people and anti-growth-oriented budget.
In a statement, he said that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had allowed marketing forces to work on the ordinary people of the country.
"The budget had a narrow approach on several issues. On one hand, common items like gas, fertilizers and oils will become costly, and on the other, the budget conceals the hidden agenda of reforms. It indirectly hints at private participation in every aspect of society," he said.
He suspected the achievement of expected growth rate for the current year at 6.9% and projected growth rate for 2012-13 at 7.6%.
He noted that the budget has proposed to increase the rates of Service Tax and Central Excise from 10% to 12%.
He also objected to the proposal to bring many new areas into Service Tax net by prescribing a Negative List for the first time since 1994.
The proposal will have an inflationary effect on the prices of goods and services, he added.
Dattatreyya took a serious note of allowing FDI in multi-brand retail, and said that it would have a negative impact on small and medium businessmen. (INN)