'Callous' Budget that has betrayed hopes of vast majority of people: P Chidambaram

Congress leader P Chidambaram on Wednesday claimed that the Union Budget has “betrayed” the hopes of a vast majority of Indians and shows how far removed the government is from the people and their concerns about life, livelihood and the growing inequality between the rich and the poor.

At a press conference at the AICC headquarters here, the former finance minister termed the budget as “callous” and said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has not mentioned the words unemployment, poverty, inequality or equity anywhere in her Budget speech “Let me begin by pointing out, with regret, that the FM has not mentioned the words unemployment, poverty, inequality or equity anywhere in her speech. Mercifully, she has mentioned the word poor twice in her speech. I am sure the people of India will take note of who are in the concerns of the government and who are not,” Chidambaram said.

He stressed that no taxes have been reduced except for the small number who have opted for the new tax regime.