Obstruction of constitutional exercise not done
The demand by certain opposition party leaders to defer the Union Budget until after the upcoming Assembly elections is unsound both politically and economically. The Budget is a constitutional necessity and cannot be held hostage to electoral considerations. Critics of the Government believe that the regime would use the Budget to offer incentives which could impact the outcome of elections in its favour. A Union Budget is a nationwide exercise and is not a tool for giving ‘sops' or ‘concessions' to a select few States, though some States invariably end up gaining more than others. Opposition parties have sought the Election Commission of India's attention on the matter, claiming that the Budget's presentation days before elections to five State Assemblies commence, would be a violation of the Model Conduct of Conduct (MCC). The Commission has said that it would study the issue. It's as yet unclear if the Budget announcement can fall under the provisions of the MCC.
There have been instances where the Election Commission of India has permitted Governments to make crucial announcements that were in the people's larger interest, in the run-up to elections. For instance, the poll panel allowed the Union Ministry of Agriculture to announce a fresh minimum support price for raw jute in 2013, even though an Assembly election was due in Karnataka. Of course, there have instances where announcements were made with the brazen purpose of influencing voters. In 2006, the then Union Minister for Human Resource Development had declared reservations for OBC students in higher Government educational institutions. This was when polls were due in the States of Kerala, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. During both the above instances, a Congress-led Government was at the Centre. Strangely, the Congress should now be questioning the Government's move to present the Budget preferably on February 1. Normally, the Election Commission would take a call after analysing if the announcements that are to be made — or are made — could have waited until the polling was done. The presentation of a Budget should not fall under these considerations, because the Budget cannot wait. In special cases in the past, a vote-on-account was presented.
It may be recalled that the short-lived Government of Chandrashekhar could not present the Budget because the Congress, which was supporting it from outside and which eventually made it impossible for his Government to continue (Chandrashekhar dramatically resigned, taking the Congress leadership, which had hoped he would bend rather than break, by surprise), refused to allow him to do so. It had become crucial for the Government to announce the Budget for one simple reason: The nation's financial situation was precarious and it was in touch with various global financing agencies to rescue the economy from simply going down under — and these agencies were looking for positive directions in the Budget. But the Congress, under Rajiv Gandhi's leadership, was worried that, if Chandrashekhar's regime caught the public imagination, it would be able to garner widespread support and fortify its position. The Congress wasn't bothered about the negative fallout of the failure to announce the Budget.