Budget 2016: Big takeaway is that there is no big idea, says P Chidambaram

NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram has dubbed the Budget as one devoid of any “big idea” and “a wasted opportunity” and chided the NDA regime for “lacking the courage” to repeal the retrospective tax on capital gains (the so-called Vodafone tax).

He has also said FM had refused to send any signal of ‘accommodation of the Congress’ three conditions for passing the GST Bill.

“After listening to the Budget speech or after reading the text, what is the one big takeaway for the average citizen? It is that there is no big idea,” Chidambaram said at the AICC press conference.

“This is the third budget of the NDA government. The first two were forgettable. The Prime Minister had promised that he would “reform to transform”.

The word ‘reform’ is a little understood but much used word. Reform means reform of factor markets or product markets. There is little evidence of such reform. So, NDA has followed its own brand of budget-making, which is just housekeeping and accounting.”

On the retrospective tax, Chidambaram said, “despite having an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha, government could not summon the courage to repeal the retrospective tax on capital gains.”

He said the UPA regime could not repeal the retrospective tax because it lacked majority in Lok Sabha and due to its “baggage” of having imposed the Vodafone tax, he lamented the Finance Minister failed to do it despite his government enjoying majority in Lok Sabha.

On the GST Bill, he said, “There is only a lukewarm reference to the GST Bills, but there is no promise of accommodating the legitimate criticism of the Opposition.”