Columnists

P Chidambaram

P Chidambaram is former Finance minister of India.

SC order gives govt a way to retreat from its militaristic approach to Kashmir issue

Sun, Jan 19, 2020

The SC judgment also gives hope to the seven million people of the Kashmir Valley that their freedoms will be restored — although there is no sign yet of that happening seven days later

Across the aisle: Students have sensed that something is ‘terribly wrong’ in the way country is being governed

Sun, Jan 12, 2020

The ferment that we witness in the campuses of Indian universities and colleges bears a striking resemblance to the events of 1968. Students and youth have sensed that something is ‘terribly wrong’ in the way the country is being governed.

Constitution is breached every day, denying to millions of people minimum justice, social, economic and political

Sun, Jan 05, 2020

When Nani Palkhivala propounded the theory of an unalterable and unamendable “basic structure” of Constitution, legal experts scoffed at the argument. How can the power of a sovereign Parliament to amend the Constitution (Article 368) be curtailed or subjected to a review by judges appointed by the Executive, they asked.

What will force Mr Modi to change course will be the outcome of the state elections in 2020-21

Sun, Dec 29, 2019

In the last two months, BJP was dented in Haryana, denied in Maharashtra and defeated in Jharkhand. This success can be taken forward if non-BJP parties rally around the strongest party in each state. That would mean Congress in Puducherry, Assam and Kerala; DMK in Tamil Nadu; and state-specific arrangements for Bihar and West Bengal.

The woes of the FM are not over with the reversal of her prized announcements in the Budget

Sun, Dec 22, 2019

Budget 2019-20 is unique. I know of no budget in recent memory where, after making the Budget, the Finance Minister consciously unmade the Budget.

CAA has introduced a new route to acquire citizenship — by executive fiat

Sun, Dec 15, 2019

Project Hindu Rashtra is gaining speed. The engine is the Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi; at the wheel is the Home Minister, Mr Amit Shah. The designer/engineer, the RSS, is watching with great interest.

In an economy sans economists, ministers resort to ‘bluff’ and ‘bluster’

Fri, Dec 13, 2019

Chidambaram writes: The government has acknowledged that the economy is in a slowdown, but denied that there were ‘structural’ issues that need to be addressed. The government has described the problems as ‘cyclical’. It is a small mercy that they did not identify the causes as ‘seasonal’!

Economy seems to be the last of the concerns of the government after operation J&K

Sun, Aug 18, 2019

The economy is one area where muscular nationalism will not work. On the contrary, it may work to the detriment of the economy.

J&K is no longer the same J&K. It has been dismembered

Sun, Aug 11, 2019

If the precedent is followed, it is only a matter of time before Darjeeling will be carved out as a Union Territory out of West Bengal. The routine will be to ask the state Assembly to “express its views” or impose President’s rule and dissolve the Assembly.

Across the aisle: BJP has used every trick in its bag to pass laws in Rajya Sabha

Sun, Aug 04, 2019

The BJP government’s commitment to federalism can be gauged by the manner in which Bills are passed in the Rajya Sabha. The Lok Sabha is the House of the People while the Rajya Sabha is the Council of States.

FM Sitharaman’s maiden Finance Bill is constitutionally suspect

Sun, Jul 28, 2019

Like there were serious questions about the Budget, there are serious questions about the Finance Bill.

$5 trillion economy is not an extraordinary goal

Sun, Jul 21, 2019

The CEA has good reason to be worried about the insufficiency of domestic resources. Government/ public investment can be made only out of tax revenues and public sector surpluses. Of these, tax revenues are under pressure. 2018-19 was a particularly dismal year; yet the government has set aggressive targets for tax revenues in 2019-20. Evidently, the CEA does not share the government’s optimism.

7% growth will mean little or nothing to the poor, unemployed and exploited sections

Sun, Jul 14, 2019

Seven per cent growth will be totally insufficient to create wealth or enhance welfare. Seven per cent growth will not generate the millions of jobs that are required. Seven per cent growth will not raise the per capita income of the lowest deciles (the bottom 20 per cent) of the population.

How far did Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget advance the goal set by the Economic Survey?

Sun, Jul 07, 2019

The government has chosen to do incremental reforms. The 13 economists — all Indians or of Indian origin — will be disappointed. So will be many who were rooting for radical reforms.

Modi’s slogan of One Nation, One Election is the new distracting tactic

Sun, Jun 30, 2019

Mr Narendra Modi successfully fused Pulwama and Balakot. Anyone questioning the intelligence failure in Pulwama (and the tragic loss of 40 lives) was mischievously interpreted as if he was questioning the IAF’s success in Balakot, and labelled an anti-national.

The small-g government has failed the big-G government

Sun, Jun 23, 2019

There is a huge gap between intention and implementation. Why? We are hesitant to say it, but it must be said: within the Government (with a capital G) there is another government (with a small g). It is the small-g government that has failed the big-G government as well as the people.

No Finance Minister (FM) starts on a clean slate

Sun, Jun 16, 2019

The slate is always full of writing — some helpful, some harmless, some a headache and some a hindrance!

Across the aisle: Will Mr Modi win sabka vishwas?

Sun, Jun 09, 2019

There is something that Modi has discerned which, perhaps, others in his party have failed to grasp: that it is not enough to get the votes of the Dalits, the Muslims, the Christians and the very poor, it is necessary to win their trust.

Across the aisle: How it can be sabka vikas

Fri, Jun 07, 2019

The key idea — and the one that will be most disruptive — is decentralisation. The short-term results may be unsatisfactory but in the medium to long term, better governed states will deliver better outcomes than at present and that will make the people demand better governance at the state level.

There are and will be differences among the party-contenders for the right to govern India