Chidambaram Criticizes Budget 2024: Accuses Finance Minister of Copying Congress Ideas

Chidambaram Welcomes Borrowed Ideas on Employment and Taxes but Urges Government to Adopt More Comprehensive Measures from Congress Manifesto

New Delhi — After the Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced Budget 2024, Congress Rajya Sabha member and former finance minister P. Chidambaram held a press conference to voice his concerns and criticisms. He was joined by Congress spokesperson Ms. Supriya Shrinate, who also made additional observations on the budget’s implications.

A Disappointing Budget: 

Chidambaram began by expressing his disappointment with the budget, stating, “You have listened to the budget speech of the Honorable Finance Minister. As I did, the budget documents were uploaded only about three hours ago, and it will take time to read and analyze the documents. On behalf of the Congress Party, I shall make a few observations and comments, and my colleague, Ms. Supriya Shrinate, will make more observations.”

Adoption of Congress Ideas: 

Chidambaram remarked on the Finance Minister’s adoption of several ideas from the Congress manifesto. “I am happy the Honorable Finance Minister had an opportunity to read the Congress manifesto after the Lok Sabha 2024 elections. She has virtually adopted the ideas underlying our proposals on employment, such as the Link Incentive scheme, the apprenticeship scheme with allowance to the apprentice, and the abolition of the angel tax. I welcome her to borrow our ideas and wish she had borrowed and adopted many more ideas from the Congress manifesto,” he said.

Critical Observations:

1. Unemployment: Chidambaram highlighted the grave unemployment situation, citing the CMIE’s all-India unemployment rate of 9.2%. He criticized the government’s response as insufficient and exaggerated the impact of its schemes. “The claim that the schemes announced by the Finance Minister will benefit 290 lakh people is highly exaggerated,” he noted.
2. Inflation: Addressing inflation, Chidambaram pointed out the discrepancies between the government’s figures and the reality. “The deflator assumed by the government has been severely criticized by several knowledgeable economists. Unless the puzzle of the deflator is resolved, it is not possible to unreservedly accept the claimed GDP growth of 8.2% in 2022-23,” he stated. He also criticized the government’s casual approach to tackling inflation.
3. Education: Chidambaram criticized the government’s handling of education, particularly the poor quality of education and the NEET controversy. He noted that the central government must help states address fundamental problems in education and called for the scrapping of NEET. “The government is stubbornly clinging to NEET,” he said.
4. Healthcare: Chidambaram pointed out the inadequacies in public healthcare, citing a decline in central government expenditure on healthcare. “Public healthcare is growing quantitatively but not in quality,” he stated.
5. Wages: The former finance minister highlighted the stagnation of wages, demanding a minimum wage of ₹400 per day. “No relief at all has been given to the poor section of the people, especially those who are non-tax-paying wage laborers and casual daily laborers,” he criticized.
6. Farmers: Chidambaram reiterated the farmers’ demand for a legal guarantee of MSP for agricultural produce, a promise made in the Congress manifesto but ignored in the budget.
7. Education Loans: Chidambaram addressed the burden of unpaid educational loans on students and their families. He criticized the government’s lack of response to this issue and called for relief measures.
8. Agnipath Scheme: Chidambaram demanded the scrapping of the Agnipath scheme, urging a return to the traditional recruitment methods in the armed forces. “There is no response. The agitation to scrap the Agnipath scheme will continue,” he asserted.

Conclusion: 

Chidambaram concluded by expressing his overall disappointment with the budget, emphasizing the unmet demands of common citizens, including youth, students, farmers, and laborers. “I am afraid the first budget of the new government has left us very, very disappointed,” he said.

Additional Observations by Supriya Shrinate:

 Following Chidambaram, Supriya Shrinate added her observations, focusing on the detailed analysis of the budget documents and further critiquing the government’s proposals.