Focus won’t be on vanity projects, but sanity if Congress wins Gujarat polls: Chidambaram

“I think the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train is a vanity project. The flight will take you (to Mumbai) in one hour. I am told the bullet train ticket will be priced similar to the airline ticket,” he said the government should have focused on speeding up existing trains. “Vanity projects must be avoided,” he said, adding that 20 per cent of India is extremely poor.

He said that of the six crore people in Gujarat, one crore are poor. “The government is for helping the poor and so I would advise the government of Gujarat, if a Congress government is formed, keep the poor in mind and address their requirements — jobs, houses, water, electricity — so that their lives can become a little better,” he said while addressing an audience comprising doctors, chartered accountants, lawyers and businessmen.

‘Demonetisation did not reduce cash in circulation’

During the interaction, Chidambaram pointed out that Tuesday was the sixth anniversary of demonetisation. “They said demonetisation will restrict cash in circulation. On the day of demonetisation, the total cash in circulation was Rs 17 lakh crore and today it is Rs 31 lakh crore, so demonetisation did not reduce the cash in circulation,” he added.

Terming the government’s target of a $5 trillion economy a hoax, Chidambaram said, “The $5 trillion goal is a bit of a joke… Ask the question when will you reach $5 trillion. They were saying 2022, then they pushed it to 2023, now the chief economic adviser is saying 2024 and the joint secretary of finance ministry is saying we will reach in 2025. We will reach the goal whether Government of India does anything or not. It is a big hoax.”

In response to a question on what the Congress would do for the education sector which is currently operating like a business entity in Gujarat, Chidambaram said, “I personally believe that education cannot be a for-profit activity. If you want to enter the field of education, you may do so. Don’t make a loss… By and large, both education and health care should remain a not-for-profit activity. I know what I am saying may not be very popular, but that is the only way poor people can get proper healthcare and education.”