Chidambaram terms budget damn squib, but praises Jaitley's 'moderation'

New Delhi : Former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Thursday termed the budget for 2017-18 a "damp squib" but praised Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for adopting a "tone of moderation" after the demonetisation policy.

Calling it a wasted opportunity, Chidambaram said: "Altogether, I am disappointed that the government has not used the opportunity to push through bold reforms, revive aggregate demand and growth, and devise new strategies for job creation.

"Our conclusion, on reading all the budget documents, was that the exercise has turned out to be a damp squib. But, there are a few positives, which we are happy with. The most important positive is that the government seems chastened after the debacle of demonetisation and has not done anything reckless or



disruptive."

Praising Jaitley, the Congress leader said: "I compliment the Finance Minister on adopting a tone of moderation. It is obvious that demonetisation and its inevitable consequences have demoralised the government.

"They have retreated from reforms and have no answers to the severe challenges faced by the economy. The sections of the people most affected by demonetisation were the farmers, farm workers, manual labourers, the self-employed, artisans and micro, small and medium businesspersons.

"They lost crores in the form of wages, incomes and capital. There is absolutely nothing in the budget for these sections. We had demanded that the government offer them compensation in some form, but the government has cruelly neglected them."