New Delhi, (the states. news)
Terming the
stimulus package announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as ‘a candid
confession that the Rs 20 lakh crore ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ package was a massive
failure,’ senior Congress leader and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram on
Tuesday said the new package was another sly attempt to dazzle people with
exaggerated numbers.
Addressing a press conference through video-conferencing, Mr P. Chidambaram
said, ‘After carefully reading the statement of the Finance Minister on the
so-called stimulus package, I am reminded of the Hindi proverb Khoda Pahaad
Nikla Chuha. Loosely translated, it means ‘dig a mountain and find a mouse’.
‘Let me make it very clear at the outset: the grand announcement yesterday was
no stimulus package to push economic growth, it was another sly attempt to
dazzle the people with exaggerated numbers and lead them to believe that the
government is hands-on and responsive to the needs of the people and the economy.
‘Like in the Rs 20000 crore ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat package’, the numbers claimed
this time too are a hoax. The stimulus is not of a value of Rs 73,000 crore,
nor is it of the value of Rs 1,00,000 crore.
‘It is just another number that has been thrown at us. The fiscal impact of
these announcements is estimated by analysts to be a mere 0.1 per cent of GDP,‘
he added.
Mr Chidambaram said in the package announced by Ms Sitharaman, the government
is trying to control people on their spending preferences.
‘The government is also trying to play the role of ma-baap when it tells
government servants what amount and on what goods and when they should spend
their own money.
‘Just as the BJP has been telling people what to eat, what to wear, what language
to speak, who to love, who to marry etc, it is now trying to control people on
their spending preferences. This is another piece of retrograde interference in
people’s lives,’ he said. (uni) (#mediasaheb.com)
Stimulus package another sly attempt to dazzle people with exaggerated numbers: P Chidambaram
