Fiscal deficit was 4.5% in UPA's terminal year, says P Chidambaram

Noting that much has been made of the fiscal correction made by the government, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday said the fiscal deficit was 4.5 per cent in the UPA's terminal year 2013-14 while it is 5.8 per cent under the NDA in 2023-24.

The former finance minister asserted that there is no place for a "bullhorn" in economics.

In a post on X, Chidambaram said much has been made of the fiscal correction made by the NDA government and the fiscal deficit of 5.8 per cent in 2023-24.

"Since memories are short, I may jog the memories of the learned commentators. Under the UPA, the Fiscal Deficit in 2007-08 was 2.5 per cent. In the terminal year of UPA (2013-14) the Fiscal Deficit was 4.5 per cent. In the terminal year of NDA (2023-24) the Fiscal Deficit is 5.8 per cent," he said.

There will be ups and downs in any regime, the Congress leader noted.

"If the NDA points to the pandemic years (2020-21 & 2021-22), the UPA can point to the years of the International Financial Crisis (2008-09) and the 'taper tantrum' (2013-14)," Chidambaram argued.

"The moral of the story: there is no place for a bullhorn in economics," he said.

Following the presentation of the interim Budget in Parliament on Thursday, the opposition Congress had alleged that the ruling NDA's approach to the economy and governance is biased in favour of the rich and the Budget neither talked about the promised 2 crore jobs every year nor about taming inflation or doubling farmers' incomes.

"It is a government of the rich, by the rich and for the rich," Chidambaram had alleged.