‘A Movie Which Bombed After The First Show,’ Says P Chidambaram on Budget 2020

Speaking at an event on Monday, the former Union Finance Minister also remarked that it was 'unfortunate' that even after 160 minutes, there was no narrative in the Budget. "People are in the dark about what is it that the government wanted to say," he further said.

New Delhi: Congress leader P Chidambaram on Monday heavily criticised the 2020 Union Budget, calling it ‘narrative-less’ and equating it to a movie which bombed after the first show.

The Congress veteran, himself a former Union Finance Minister, had also criticised the Budget on February 1 itself, just hours after it was presented in Parliament. In a press conference, when asked to rate the Budget on a scale of 1-10, he had remarked, “Ten has two digits, one and a zero. You can pick either.”

On Monday, speaking at an event, he said that it was ‘unfortunate’ that even after 160 minutes, there was no narrative in the Budget. He reasoned that this was the reason why Budget, as a topic, had disappeared from the front pages of newspapers and now on just the second day, from TV channels as well.

At over 160 minutes, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gave the longest Budget speech ever, breaking her own record from July 2019.

“This Budget is like a movie which bombed after the first show. It’s unfortunate that so many heads come together and wrote a marathon speech and yet the people are left in the dark about what is it that the government wanted to say,” Chidambaram added.

P Chidambaram, former Finance Minister & Congress leader: It's like a movie which bombed after the first show. It's unfortunate that so many heads come together & write marathon speech and yet the people are left in the dark about what is it that the govt wanted to say. (03.02) https://t.co/e6KoRbdjtU

— ANI (@ANI) February 3, 2020

The 2020 Union Budget was presented amid the ongoing economic slowdown in the country. However, it has left experts divided, with many feeling that not enough steps were announced to reverse the ongoing slowdown.