Pranab saw zero merit in Asim’s zero-deficit budgets

Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee indirectly took a swipe at former state finance minister Asim Dasgupta on Sunday for presenting zero-deficit budgets to the Assembly for successive years during his tenure. “Some provincial finance minister (referring to Asim) was presenting zero-deficit budgets for several years. This is complete economic jugglery and not in tune with the needs of a developing nation,” Mukherjee said at a CII event in Kolkata. “I do not believe in zero-deficit budgets. You see what the condition of the state is. The state has the highest per capita debt and borrowings have crossed Rs 2 lakh crore,” said Mukherjee.