Budget Analysis: Chidambaram's Budget was insipid, says ex FM Yashwant Sinha

Former Finance Minister and senior leader of BJP Yashwant Sinha feels, the Budget announced by P Chidambaram was insipid.

"Chidambaram was not comparing budgeted estimates (BE) with budgeted estimates. He was very comparing next years BE with RE. So, the RE came in handy for him to say it has gone up by 40 percent, 60 percent and 20 percent and the ruling benches were applauding," he told CNBC-TV18. Yashwant Sinha was appointed as finance minister in March, 1998 and served as FM until July 1, 2002, when he exchanged jobs with foreign minister Jaswant Singh. Below is the edited transcript of Yashwant Sinha’s interview with CNBC-TV18 Q: There was no uproar in parliament, no opposition in parliament, are we to assume that by and large you think it is an okay Budget, by and large you believe that Chidambaram has been able to deliver? A: There was no uproar because it is an insipid Budget. There was only the routine applause from the treasury benches when he announced for instance increases in expenditure on various items compared to the revised estimates (RE). Now the clever man that he is Chidambaram was not comparing budgeted estimates (BE) with budgeted estimates. He was very cleverly comparing next years BE with RE and as we are aware reduced plan expenditure by over Rs 92,000 crore and overall expenditure by may be Rs 95,000 crore. So, the RE came in handy for him to say it has gone up by 40 percent, 60 percent and 20 percent and the ruling benches were applauding. Q: What do you make of the 10 percent surcharge on the super rich which effectively takes the tax rate on that category to almost 34 percent? A: This is the tax that the rich are paying for the inefficiencies of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. India is not at war. India is not facing a natural calamity. India is not facing any crisis except the one created by the UPA government itself. He is imposing this tax and hoping to collect something like Rs 13,000 crore from the so called super rich by imposing the surcharge. The so called super rich people in India have to realise that they have to pay for the follies of this government.