Initiating a discussion on the budget in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, senior Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram pushed forward five demands from finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Chidambaram demanded that a minimum wage of ₹400 per day be fixed in the country. He also demanded a legally guaranteed MSP and that interests on unpaid education loans be written off till March 2024. He demanded abolition of the Agnipath Scheme and scrapping of NEET.
The former finance minister said that if some states want NEET, they can have it but let others scrap it. Chidambaram raised serious concerns about the Indian economy and lamented that the budget has presented a rosy picture while ignoring facts.
He also expressed his reservation on the newly introduced employee-linked incentives to encourage new jobs. “It is an inspiring idea, but it does not inspire confidence that you will be able to place 290 lakh people under the ELI scheme as described,” he said. Raising questions on the recent RBI report claiming 4.67 crore jobs were created in 2023-24, he cited an example of UP where 50 lakh applications came for 60,000 police posts. “This indicates a deeper job crisis,” he said.
Chidambaram also criticised the government on federalism and said that there was a mention of Bihar and Andhra Pradesh in the budget but no mention of other states. “The finance minister comes from Tamil Nadu. Earlier, she used to quote Tamil poets in her budget speeches. But there was no mention of Tamil or Tamil Nadu in the entire speech this time. Barring Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, no other states were mentioned,” he said. He also highlighted how the central government funds are being withheld at the pretext of one or the other in the Opposition-ruled states.
Trinamool MP Sagarika Ghosh said the government is pushing the country in an inequality trap and demanded a time-bound audit of centrally sponsored schemes.
Shiv Sena (Shinde) MP Milind Deora in his speech praised the government for the inclusive budget. He, however, demanded that the finance minister review the decision to increase the long-term capital gains tax from 10% to 12.5%. “I am of the view that the government should reduce the LTCG back to 10%,” he said. BJP MP Deepak Prakash termed it as a visionary budget aimed at making India a developed nation.
