In latest election pitch, AAP raises 7 demands for Budget

THE CONGRESS IS TOO BANKING ON A SIMILAR SET OF SCHEMES SUCH AS MONTHLY AID TO WOMEN, 300 UNITS OF FREE ELECTRICITY, AND SUBSIDISED LPG CYLINDERS AMONG OTHERS.

- Alok KN Mishra

NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday unveiled his party's "middle-class manifesto" for next month's Delhi elections in which he did not make any policy promises but listed seven demands for the Centre ahead of the upcoming Union Budget.

Kejriwal said that these demands—raising the income tax exemption limit from ₹7 lakh to ₹10 lakh, removing GST on essential commodities, capping private school fees and increasing the education budget from 2% to 10%, introducing subsidies and scholarships for higher education, boosting the health budget to 10% while exempting health insurance from taxation, offering free medical services in both government and private hospitals to seniors, and bringing back the 50% concession on rail travel for those above 60 years of age—were aimed at improving the lives of people from the middle class.

In a digital address, Kejriwal said there was a need to prioritise the middle class in the Union Budget, which will be presented on February 1.

"The middle class is the backbone of this country, yet they have been reduced to the government's ATM. They pay high taxes but get little in return," he said.