Congress leader P Chidambaram stated that the Union Budget was one that lacked a narrative, similar to a movie that bombed after its first show, as it had disappeared from media discussions just after two days of it having been tabled. Speaking to industry leaders at an event hosted by the Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industry, he shared his explanation that the two major reasons for the slowdown were demand constraint and the economy being investment starved.
He began by stating that he would speak for 160 minutes, in an apparent dig at Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman’s budget speech that lasted as long and was also the longest budget speech. Making a mention of the six quarters of growth decline and rising inflation rates he referred to the economy as a patient who required radical surgery and a doctor(the government) who wasn’t ready to acknowledge how bad the situation was.
“None of the growth engines are firing and we have a 0.1% decline in mining, negative growth of 5.3% in Coal, 3.1% in gas and 1.1% in refining. Imports are on the decline for 8 months in a row while Exports are on the downward slide for 5 months in a row. Every sector is facing this including leather, agriculture, handicrafts, etc. In the auto sector alone 296 workshops have shut and 2lakh ppl lost their jobs The Finance minister must ask her team for an economic explanation for what’s happening.”
Sharing his reading of the situation, Chidambaram said, there is a demand constraint where people are not buying, don’t have an inclination to buy and nobody is willing to invest be it domestic or foreign. The natural reaction of the government should be what shall we do to make people buy and invest, how to stimulate demand and promote investment, he added.
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