Pranab Mukherjee appeals to Indra to give rain, smokers to quit fags

He invoked rain god Indra for better monsoon to drive the economy and sought to sprinkle humour in his budget speech by referring to India as a nation of "movie-goers", but finance minister Pranab Mukherjee's efforts did not appear to impress the opposition much.

Unlike the charged speech by railway minister Mamata Banerjee in the Lok Sabha two days ago, Mukherjee's was read out in one pitch, barring some murmurs when he spoke of schemes for poll-bound West Bengal, but the atmosphere changed when he announced duty enhancement for petroleum products.

BJP and its NDA allies, along with the Left parties, Samajwadi Party and Lalu Prasad's RJD were up on their feet.
    
Mukherjee's voice was drowned in the din and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi was seen using the ear-phone to listen to him. She even asked Prasad to use the gadget but he soon walked out along with the entire opposition.
    
"Please do not prevent presentation of the budget. It is a constitutional requirement. Please allow me to read (the budget speech). You have the right to debate and discuss," Mukherjee pleaded, but to no avail.
    
Interestingly, NDA working chairman LK Advani was apparently caught unawares when leader of opposition Sushma Swaraj walked out. As he slowly got up from his seat, Ananth Kumar walked up to him and accompanied him out of the House.

The walkout was not the only spoiler for Mukherjee. When he began his budget presentation, SAD members Harsimrat Kaur and Rattan Singh Ajnala got up to protest against the delay in arrest of 1984 riot accused Sajjan Kumar.
    
Mukherjee did attempt to offer some light moments when he said India was a nation of "movie-goers" before announcing some sops for the film industry but his quip "I am giving a surprise ending" while imposing service tax on some items, was lost on the House.

He also added some humour when he hoped for a good monsoon in the coming year to drive the economic recovery.
    
"I seek Lord Indra's help to make the recovery more broad-based in the coming months," Mukherjee said.
    
While subjecting tobacco products to higher taxation, he said "since I quit smoking many years ago, I would urge others to also follow suit, as smoking is injurious to health."

The finance minister exempted toy balloons from taxes, saying they were "a source of joy for millions of children" and he wants to "bring a smile to their mothers' faces."

Kautilya, widely known as pioneer of economics in India, was also invoked by Mukherjee.
    
Several members, including some occupying back and middle benches, were seen dozing off during the speech.
   
Mamata Banerjee kept away from most part of the budget presentation. When she walked in, opposition was protesting against the customs duty on petroleum products.