An early budget is the need of the hour

The Opposition leaders are crying themselves hoarse about the Union Budget being presented on 1 February, just three days before the first phase of polling in Assembly elections across five states.

“It will provide an opportunity to the government to make populist announcements to influence voters,” lamented Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad in a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi.

On the face of it, Azad has hit the nail bang on its head. And there have been at least two precedents — in 2007 and 2012 — of Union Budgets being presented after the state elections. It’s precisely to stop governments from taking the populist route before elections that we have a “model code of conduct” that kicks in well in time.