Finance Minister Reveals Secret Behind Budget ‘Bahi Khata’

Chennai: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has revealed why she carried the Union Budget papers in a swadeshi ‘bahi khata’ instead of the traditional briefcase.

The Narendra Modi government is not a “suitcase carrying” government, Sitharaman said during the inauguration of an International Business Conference in Chennai on Saturday, NDTV reported. She added that a suitcase denoted taking and giving of suitcases, alluding to bribe money.

The Finance Minister also said that there were no more than 5,000 people in the super-rich category in the country.

Justifying the high taxes on the super-rich in the Union Budget, the minister said they should shoulder part of the government’s responsibility in supporting the poor. “It (tax) was a small expectation from them to contribute a little more for the poor. It’s not highway robbery or done with the intention to affect their business,” she added.

Sitharaman said the focus of the budget was to provide the youth the necessary support from the government, banks and others for doing business. According to her, the government was focused on ease of living and also on ease of doing business.