The Congress today came out with a scathing criticism of the Union Budget 2019-20, terming it "insipid" and an "unusually opaque exercise”, claiming that it did not provide any meaningful relief to any section of the people.
"Budget 2019-20 is an insipid budget. The finance minister's speech was an unusually opaque exercise," said senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram.
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The former finance minister, who gave a structured response on behalf of his party on the Union Budget, wondered why the speech did not disclose the total revenue, the total expenditure, the fiscal deficit, the revenue deficit, the additional revenue mobilisation or the financial concessions.
“Has there ever been a budget speech that does not disclose the allocations to important programmes like MNREGA, mid-day meal scheme, healthcare etc and to vulnerable sections like SC, ST, minorities, women etc? We are shocked by this departure from the usual practice," he said.
Chidambaram noted that the budget, belying widespread expectations, has given no meaningful relief to any section of the people. "On the contrary, the FM has increased customs duties on a large number of goods, raised taxes on petrol and dies and proposed extensive amendments to the Income Tax Act that will increase the tax and compliance burdens on the taxpayer," he said.
The former finance minister remarked that the most disappointed person must be the chief economic advisor as he had set the goal for India to become a $5 trillion economy based on private investment, but there was no indication in the budget of any measures to attract greater private investment.
Dubbing part A of the budget as being "most disappointing" in recent years, he said it was totally bereft of any reform, not to speak of structural reforms.
He said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman took 60 minutes in the part A of her speech to unveil her programmes which turned out to be mostly expansion of current programmes and schemes.
He criticised the Modi government for treating India as "one big state government" and taking upon itself the responsibility to do things that are the right and duty of state governments.
This, he said, was evident in Sitharaman in her speech assuming more responsibility for the central government for school and college education. "This is not cooperative federalism, it is an unequal partnership imposed by the Centre upon state governments," he said.
Chidambaram said the only interesting ideas in the speech were those pertaining to a Central Guarantee Enhancement Corporation and a nationwide gas grid and water grid. But he said no details were provided on these proposals.
"Altogether, the budget has been prepared without listening to the voices of either ordinary citizens or knowledgeable economists. The budget has also belied the modest expectations raised yesterday by the Economic Survey," Chidambaram said.
