FM Walking on Worn-out Path: Chidambaram on Budget 2025
Congress leader P Chidambaram Image credit INC India
Social Sector, Capital Expenditure Substantially Cut in Budget: Congress
By Amit Kumar
New Delhi, February 1: Asserting that the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman was walking on a “worn-out path”, senior Congress leader and former union Finance Minister P Chidambaram today said that the “take away from Budget 2025-26 is that the BJP is wooing the tax paying middle class and the Bihar electorate”.
Addressing a press conference along with the Deputy Leader of the party in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi at the AICC office here today, Chidambaram remarked, “These announcements will be welcomed by the 3.2 crore tax paying middle class and the 7.65 crore voters of Bihar.”
For the rest of India, he said, the Finance Minister had no more than soothing words, punctuated by the applause of BJP members led by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “The FM is walking on the worn-out path. She is not willing to break free as we did in 1991 and 2004. She is not willing to de-regulate”, Chidambaram said.
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He also stated that “Sitharaman is not willing to get out of the way of the people, especially the entrepreneurs and the MSMEs and the start-ups.”. He noted the economy will trudge along on the old path and deliver no more than the usual 6 or 6.5 per cent growth in 2025-26.
“This is a far cry from the 8 per cent growth rate that the CEA estimated in order to become a developed country,” he said while adding, “this is a government with no new ideas and no will to reach beyond its grasp”.
Referring to the financial performance in the current year, 2024-25, he said, revised revenue receipts are lower by ₹41,240 crore. Revised net tax receipts are lower by ₹26,439 crore.
On the expenditure side, he disclosed that total expenditure has been cut by ₹1,04,025 crore and capital expenditure has been cut by ₹92,682 crore.
“Of this cut, the sectors that have suffered most, and the amounts cut, are: Health: ₹1,255 crore, Education: ₹11,584 crore, Social Welfare: ₹10,019 crore, Agriculture: ₹10,992 crore, Rural Development: ₹75,133 crore, Urban Development: ₹18,907 crore, Development of NE: ₹1,894 crore,” added the Congress leader.
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The senior Congress leader said, the “cruellest cuts” were in allocations for the SC, ST, OBC and minorities. He observed that there was nothing to cheer about the fact that the government has improved the fiscal deficit from the BE of 4.9 per cent to the RE of 4.8 per cent. He said, it was achieved at a huge cost to the economy.
“Those who did not believe us when we said that the economy is slowing down will, I hope, believe us now. Those who did not believe us that the capacity of the government to plan and implement schemes has diminished will, I hope, believe us now”, he remarked.
Chidambaram said, although Capital expenditure for 2025-26 has been increased by ₹1,02,661 crore but, having regard to the experience of 2024-25, I doubt the capacity of the government to achieve the target.
Budget Estimates and Revised Estimates for 2024-25 and the proposed Budget Estimates for 2025-26 for the various programmes/schemes, he said, clearly indicate that (i) the government has lost faith in these programmes announced with fanfare in the previous Budget speeches and (ii) the government’s capacity has significantly diminished.
Chidambaram cited the examples of POSHAN, Jal Jeevan Mission, NSAP, PMGSY, Crop Insurance Scheme, Urea Subsidy, and PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana.
Chidambaram said, the Railways have been shortchanged. Railways, he pointed out, serve the overwhelming majority of the population.
The increase of a paltry ₹766 crore in 2025-26 as compared to the Revised Estimate of 2024-25 will not even account for the inflation. The allocation will be less than last year’s allocation, he said.
“On the much-vaunted PLI schemes plus New Employment Generation Scheme plus Skill India programme that were promised to create thousands of jobs, the youth of this country have been cheated,” he added.
Chidambaram observed that it is evident that neither the FM nor the PM care for the advice of the Chief Economic Adviser, who gave sensible advice in the Economic Survey, “Get out of the way”.
On the contrary, he added, the Budget is full of new schemes and programmes, many of which are beyond the capacity of this government. He said there were at least 15 new Schemes or programmes and 4 new Funds.
The former Finance Minister observed that it is the bureaucracy that will be happy with this Budget. “The strangle- hold of government on the activities of the people is getting tighter”, he remarked.
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