It’s a Defeatist Budget, BJP Has Thrown in The Towel: Chidambaram

The BJP’s proposed ‘Modicare’ or National Healthcare programme is a “big jumla”, the senior Congress leader said.

Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram.

(Photo: IANS)

Terming Budget 2018-19 "defeatist" and a "big letdown", the Congress on Thursday, 1 February said the government has "thrown in the towel" and conceded that it has failed to address key issues in the economy.

The budget proposals should have been "bold and radical", senior Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram said.

It is a defeatist budget. I think they have thrown in the towel. It is a budget of a government which has conceded that it has failed to address key issues in the economy... Unfortunately, the budget proposals are a big letdown

P Chidambaram said while addressing the media

Chidambaram also picked holes in the government's budgetary promise of providing insurance coverage of up to Rs 5 lakh to 10 crore poor families and said it was a "big jumla" (gimmick).

"The finance minister fails the fiscal consolidation test and this failure will have serious consequences," Chidambaram had told PTI earlier in the day, soon after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley completed his budget speech.

The Centre on Thursday announced the world’s largest government funded health care programme, aimed at benefiting 10 crore poor families by providing coverage of up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation.

The National Health Protection Scheme, announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget for 2018-19, will cover approximately 50 crore people.

While lauding the healthcare protection schemes for the poor announced on Thursday, head honchos of leading private hospitals said their effective implementation was crucial.

Zahabiya Khorakiwala, MD, Wockhardt Hospitals group, said the Suraksha Bima Yojana would ensure that almost 40 percent of underprivileged population is able to access secondary and tertiary care healthcare, and it would increase the market size for healthcare providers radically.

"The investment in hospitals is a subject matter of viability, so it is yet a bit premature to assess investment potential of the schemes announced. However, if the propositions are commercially viable, these would be opening a vast market for the investments to flow in," she told PTI.

Video Editor: Mohd Ibrahim
Producers: Srishti Tyagi, Eshwar Gole

(With inputs from PTI)