‘Old Wine in New Bottle’: Opposition Slams Modi 2.0’s Union Budget

P Chidambaram said that the Nirmala Sitharaman has given “no meaningful relief to any section of the society.”

File images of P Chidambaram, Mayawati, Derek O’Brien.

(Photo: The Quint)

Video Producer: Fabeha Syed

Video Editor: Mohd. Irshad Alam

Shortly after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled Modi 2.0 government’s maiden Budget on Friday, 5 July, the ruling BJP hailed it as a step towards "new India", one which laid the foundation for an inclusive and progressive nation.

The Opposition, led by the Congress, however, wasted no time in slamming the Budget, dubbing it as "old wine in a new bottle."

In this year's Budget, Sitharaman announced a hike in excise duty on petrol and diesel, raised import duty on gold, levied additional surcharge on the ‘super rich’ and introduced a tax on high value cash withdrawals, as she sought to spur growth with reduction in corporate tax and sops to housing sector, startups and electric vehicles.

This failed to impress former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, as he said that Sitharaman gave “no meaningful relief to any section of the society.”

‘One of the Most Opaque Budget Speeches’

Addressing a media conference soon after the Budget speech, Chidambaram attacked Sitharaman on several fronts. He said, “The budget has increased the burden of the taxpayer, and given extraordinary power to the tax collector, which we disagree with.”

On the Budget’s claim to make India a more attractive FDI destination, Chidambaram said: “As for the FDI, the only paragraph I noticed was that FDI and companies will be limited to 24 percent. Last year, there was a dip in FDI to about $44 billion or so... I don’t know how they are going to get it, they haven't said much about it. Nothing is clear, it is one of the most opaque speeches.”

He also lashed out at the government for their “obsession with making a cashless economy.”

“We have pointed out that while we must promote digitisation, we cannot force people to use only cash. (Almost) 80 percent of the transactions are in cash. Now people will resort to private lending, shy away from the banks and keep the money with themselves.”

P Chidambaram, Congress leader

‘A Nightmare For the Common People’: Derek O’Brien

All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) took to Twitter and posted party leader Derek O’Brien’s reaction to the Budget. He took a dig at the new Budget on railways, jobs, farmers, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), etc.

Expressing his disappointment with the Budget, O’Brien said: “Railways was discussed for only two minutes, the Railway Budget has disappeared. Special Purpose Vehicle (SPVs) for Railways is anti-federal, it burdens the States.”

Derek O’Brien’s official statement on the new budget.(Photo Courtesy: @derekobrienmp/Twitter)

‘Budget Aimed at Helping Big Capitalists’: Mayawati

Expressing her discontent with the Budget, Bahujan Samajwadi party (BSP) Supremo Mayawati said that the BJP has tried their level best to make the Budget look attractive.

She said that it remains to seen how beneficial it actually is to the people of the country, especially when the entire country is suffering from poverty, unemployment, poor education and healthcare.

“This Budget is going to help some big capitalists by promoting the private sector, which will not only make reservation for Dalits and backwards, but also complicate inflation, poverty, unemployment, farmers and rural problems. The growth of capital in the country is also not possible,” said Mayawati.

Siddaramaiah Joins the Attack

Former Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah cleverly worded his criticism in the form of a proverb, saying: “Everything under the sun, but nothing to catch it.”

"The budget seems confused budget. There is no clarity about which sector it wants to prioritise. In fact, it was expected hefty funds would be made available for the already existing agriculture-related schemes Budget 2019," Former Maharashtra Finance Minister Jayant Patil tweeted.

He said Sitharaman was expected to address the price rise issue, keeping in mind concerns of women, but in vain.

"It was expected that there would be something in the Budget that would at least speed up the development growth engine, but nothing of that sort has happened. Instead, this Budget will retard the natural growth process," he observed.

‘A Gap Between Rhetoric & Reality'

Congress leader and MP for Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor, also expressed his concerns with the Budget.

“I am not terribly excited about the Budget. There are a few things that are already troubling me. For example, we are already paying the highest petrol rates in the world. Now they want us to pay Rs 2 more for every litre. There has been such a gap between rhetoric and reality with this government... I must say that I have some hesitation in expressing a great deal of praise of what we have seen today.”

‘GDP Projections Overstated’: Surjewala

In a series of tweets, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala slammed Budget, and said that it was a ‘betrayal’ to India’s youth.

In a following tweet, Surjewala also said that the ‘GDP projections are overstated.’

Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury joined the club and said that it was just a repetition of "old promises."

Claiming that no new initiatives were announced by the government, Chowdhary said: "There is no plan for employment generation, there is no distinct plan for giving any facilities to agriculture sector, labour sector. This is nothing but a litany of old promises.”

‘Full of Rhetoric, Tokenism,’ Says Dikshit

Hours after it was presented, former Chief Minister of Delhi took to Twitter and criticised the Budget.

Expressing her disappointment, she claimed that the national capital has been missing out in the last few budgets.