New Delhi: Former finance minister P Chidambaram asserted on Friday on behalf of the Congress that the union budget of Nirmala Sitharaman is “bereft of any reforms” and criticised her for burdening people with increase in customs duty on a large number of items as a "protectionist" policy of helping out the Indian corporate sector.
Who will call it a budget that does not disclose the total revenue, total expenditure, fiscal deficit, revenue deficit, total of revenue mobilisation and financial concessions, he asked at a press conference at the AICC headquarters here.
“We are shocked by this departure from the usual practice as the budget speech does not even disclose the allocations to important programmes and to vulnerable sections like SC, ST, minorities and women,” he said.
Chidambaram said: "Belying widespread expectations, the FM 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 (protectionist), raised taxes on petrol and diesel (exploitative) and proposed extensive amendments to the Income Tax Act that will increase the tax and compliance burdens on the taxpayer."
He said only interesting ideas in the budget were of nationwide water grid and gas greed as also a credit guarantee enhancement corporation, but there are no details whatsoever to offer any comment.
"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 (Thursday) by the Economic Survey," Chidambaram underlined.
He said the Congress could not recall Part A of the budget speech bereft of any reform, not to speak of structural reforms.
He said: "The most disappointed person must be the chief economic adviser who had set the goal for India to become a USD 5 trillion economy and premised his entire argument on boosting private investment." His ideas in the Economic Survey of 2018-19 presented only on Thursday have been thrown into the dustbin.
Chidambaram said there is no indication in the budget speech of any measures to attract greater private investment.
"The only investment-related proposal was to increase the FPI (foreign portfolio investment) limit from 24% to the sectoral limit pertaining to the industry if the concerned company opts for the higher limit," Chidambaram said.
