NAGPUR, DECEMBER 22: Narayan Rane, Opposition leader in Maharashtra Assembly, today accused the Democratic Front Government of presenting a white paper on the State's economic scenario with a political motive.``The white paper has failed to suggest concrete measures to revive the state's economy'', Rane said while initiating a two-day debate on the paper.In a hard-hitting speech, Rane said that the white paper has succeeded in ``misleading'' people of the State. ``What purpose has been served after presenting the paper in the legislature'', Rane asked.The DF Government came out with the white paper with a single motive of levelling allegations against the previous Shiv Sena-BJP government, the former chief minister said.The white paper has lowered the image of Maharashtra in other parts of the country, he said amidst slogans of ``shame, shame'' from the Opposition benches.Rane said on the one hand Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and his cabinet colleagues were accusing the saffron alliance of putting the state on the brink of bankruptcy and on the other hand the DF government had announced projects worth Rs 4000 crore within barely two months of coming to power.He said the state's economy was run on the principle of deficit budget keeping in view the interest of common man. The State's budget is not that of a private company which should be in profit every time, he added.Taking a dig at the 55-member jumbo DF cabinet, Rane said the government should enforce financial discipline with itself.He asked whether the government was willing to curtail the expenditure on the tours of ministers, administrative front and on renovation of minister's bungalows and offices.The opposition leader wondered whether the government was going to stop the grants for various schemes, put a cap on further recruitment and hike in government employees salaries.He said the Sena-BJP alliance government repaid loans worth Rs 16,000 crore of the previous Congress government.The saffron alliance had raised loans for infrastructural facilities like roads, electricity, drinking water and irrigation projects.Refuting charges that cost of work on Krishna Valley Development Corporation (KVDC) had increased from Rs 7,100 crore to over Rs 11,000 crore, Rane cited instances of hike in estimates of projects during the Congress rule.While previous Congress governments spent Rs 7,500 crore within 20 years on the KVDC, the saffron alliance government spent Rs 4,000 crore during its four-and-half years' rule, he said.He alleged that the white paper had not mentioned the revenue generated by various corporations and said revenue deficit was unavoidable following the implementation of Fifth Pay Commission report.
