Former finance minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday criticised FM Nirmala Sitharaman a day after she expressed anguish over the Union Budget being passed without any discussion in both Houses of Parliament “because of unrelenting disruptions by the Opposition”.
“The hon’ble FM has lamented that there was no debate in Parliament on the Budget. Who was responsible for the Budget being passed without debate?” Chidambaram said on Twitter.
The senior Congress leader also claimed that it was for the first time in Indian parliamentary history that the “treasury benches started the din and disruption, and forestalled debate”.
“I feel sad that the Budget was passed without discussion. My effort through the years has been to provide an honest and transparent Budget,” Sitharaman, while interacting with the media on Tuesday, said.
Chidambaram further said that according to the World Bank, the five-year average growth of the NDA government (2019-2024) will be 4.08% and even the sequential annual growth rates after the Covid-affected year show a declining trend.
“The only one boasting about the growth rate is the government,” he said.
Also Read:Feel sad Budget was passed without discussion, says FM Sitharaman
A World Bank report released on Tuesday pegged India’s GDP to slide down to 6.3% in 2023-24 against its earlier estimate of 6.6%, riding on slow consumption owing to higher borrowing costs.
According to the report, India’s current account deficit is also likely to come down to 2.1% in 2023-24, compared to 3% in 2022-23.