Chorus of dissent against Budget 2018 grows, tweets Chidambaram

Congress leader P Chidambaram on Tuesday said that the chorus of dissent against the 2018-19 budget has grown and even economists of the government and the RBI Governor have spoken against its provisions.

In a series of tweets, he said that former NITI Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya had spoken against the protectionist custom duties and world stock exchanges protested government-inspired NSE/BSE restrictions on sharing data.

"The chorus of dissent against Budget provisions grows. ... Dr Rathin Roy, Member, PMEAC joins Dr Panagariya," he said on Twitter.

In a newspaper article, Panagariya had expressed reservations over the government's new trade template in the budget.

Roy, a member of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC), has reportedly expressed unhappiness about the relaxation in fiscal deficit target.

Chidambaram, a former finance minister, said that Surjit Bhalla, another member of the PMEAC, has spoken against long- term capital gain tax on stocks and mutual funds.

"Dr Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog hopes that these measures are 'temporary'! Dr Urjit Patel, Governor, RBI warns of five taxes on capital and how it will inhibit capital investment.

"World stock exchanges protest government-inspired NSE/BSE restrictions on sharing data with other exchanges as protectionist," he said on the micro-blogging site.