In a pre-budget meeting with Finance Minister P Chidambaram here on Thursday, Congress leaders have asked the UPA government to increase the taxable income exemption limit to Rs 4 lakh from the current Rs 2 lakh, while suggesting a pro-people budget with sops for the middle class and farmers keeping the upcoming elections in mind.
The meeting was held at the Congress party headquarters. With the rise in fuel prices impacting the ‘aam aadmi’, the meeting saw suggestions for varied pricing of petrol, diesel and cooking gas for people living below poverty line and low income group.
Senior party leader Oscar Fernandes suggested there was a need to bring down the dependence on petroleum import and more focus on having alternative sources of energy like ethanol, sources said. Fernandes also wanted the government to reduce tax on bidis, noting that employment levels were coming down in the labour-intensive sector due to current tax slab.
Congress leader Jagdish Tytler suggested that the budget should be formulated in a way that helps the party to connect with people as elections were ahead, sources said. AICC Secretary P Sudhakar Reddy mooted raising the tax exemption limit of Rs 2 lakh to Rs 4 lakh, which was endorsed by many other office bearers.
