No stimulus package … another sly attempt to dazzle people: Chidambaram

"The stimulus is not of a value of Rs 73,000 crore. Nor is it of the value of Rs 1,00,000 crore. The fiscal impact of these announcements is estimated by analysts to be a mere 0.1 per cent of GDP," Chidambaram said.

P chidambaram, chidambaram on nrc npr, nrc npr link, amit shah, caa protests, anti caa protests, Congress, assam nrc, indian express

Chidambaram said the bottom half of the families in India were again left in the cold

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Tuesday said the stimulus package announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is yet another “sly attempt” to dazzle the people with exaggerated numbers and mislead them.

The former Finance Minister said the only way to generate demand is by “sharply stepping up” spending by 10 per cent more of the GDP, whereas the fiscal impact of the Centre’s announcements on Monday is estimated by analysts to be a mere 0.1 per cent of GDP.

“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’

Story continues below this ad

“… the grand announcement 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. It is also a candid confession that the earlier so-called ‘Rs 20 lakh crore package’ was a massive failure. It was a failure because it was a hoax,” he said.

Also read | Measures to boost consumption: Bid to put money in hand, then tying it too

Chidambaram said the Centre is also trying to play the role of “ma-baap” by telling government employees “what amount and on what goods and when they should spend their own money.”

The RJD’s key face and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Tejashwi Yadav, party supremo Lalu Yadav’s son, will again contest from his stronghold Raghopur.

Amid Mahagathbandhan crisis, RJD unveils list of 143, drops 36 MLAs, focuses on ‘M-Y’

Political Pulse2 hr ago

The RJD, lead player of the Mahagathbandhan, released its full list of 143 candidates for the November Bihar Assembly elections. Its key face Tejashwi Yadav will contest from Raghopur, and 41 sitting MLAs have been renominated. The party has dropped 36 sitting MLAs and fielded young leaders, signaling a bid to consolidate its core Muslim-Yadav vote base. The Congress has fielded 60 candidates.

View all shorts

Live Blog

PHOTOS