FM walking on worn-out path, not willing to break free as we did in 1991, 2004: Congress

New Delhi: Asserting that the BJP-led Centre has "no new ideas", the Congress on Saturday said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is walking on the "worn-out path" and not willing to break free as its governments had done in 1991 and 2004.

The opposition party said the takeaway from the Union Budget 2025-26 is that the ruling BJP is wooing the tax-paying middle-class and the Bihar electorate.

Addressing a press conference here along with his party colleague Gaurav Gogoi, senior Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram said these announcements will be welcomed by the 3.2 crore tax-paying middle class and the 7.65 crore voters of Bihar.

But for the rest of India, the finance minister had nothing more than soothing words, punctuated by the applause of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said.

"There is nothing to cheer about the fact that the government has improved the fiscal deficit from the budget estimate of 4.9 per cent to the revised estimate of 4.8 per cent. It was achieved at a huge cost to the economy," Chidambaram said.

"Those who did not believe us when we said that the economy is slowing down will, I hope, believe us now. Those who did not believe us that the capacity of the government to plan and implement schemes has diminished will, I hope, believe us now," he added.

The Congress leader said capital expenditure for 2025-26 has been increased by Rs 1,02,661 crore but "having regard to the experience of 2024-25, I doubt the capacity of the government to achieve the target".

"I am glad, however, that the finance minister has shed her faith in astrologically-determined numbers," the former Union minister said.

He said it is evident that neither the finance minister nor the prime minister cares for the advice of the chief economic adviser (CEA).

"He gave sensible advice in the Economic Survey. 'Get out of the way' was his call to the government. On the contrary, the budget is full of new schemes and programmes, many of which are beyond the capacity of this government. I counted at least 15 new schemes or programmes and four new funds," Chidambaram said.

The finance minister is "walking on the worn-out path and not willing to break free as we did in 1991 and 2004", the Congress leader added.

"She is not willing to de-regulate. She is not willing to get out of the way of people, especially entrepreneurs and MSMEs and start-ups. It is the bureaucracy that will be happy with this budget. The government's stranglehold on the activities of people is getting tighter," the senior Congress leader said.

He said the economy will trudge along on the old path and deliver no more than the usual 6-per cent or 6.5-per cent growth in 2025-26.

"This is a far cry from the 8-per cent growth rate that the CEA estimated in order to become a developed country. In our view, this is a government with no new ideas and no will to reach beyond its grasp," Chidambaram added.

Highlighting the financial performance in 2024-25, he said the revised revenue receipts are lower by Rs 41,240 crore and the revised net tax receipts by Rs 26,439 crore.

"On the expenditure side, total expenditure has been cut by Rs 1,04,025 crore and capital expenditure by Rs 92,682 crore. Of this cut, the sectors that have suffered the most, and the amounts cut, are -- health: Rs 1,255 crore, education: Rs 11,584 crore, social welfare: Rs 10,019 crore, agriculture: Rs 10,992 crore, rural development: Rs 75,133 crore, urban development: Rs 18,907 crore, development of the northeast: Rs 1,894 crore," Chidambaram said.

He said the cruellest cuts were in the allocations for the Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Other Backward Classes (OBC) and minorities. He cited the examples of the Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana, Prime Minister Young Achievers Scholarship for OBC, EBC, DNTs, Post Matric Scholarship for SCs and Programme for Development of STs.

He urged people to look at the Budget Estimates and Revised Estimates for 2024-25 and the proposed Budget Estimates for 2025-26 for certain schemes.

"The government has lost faith in these programmes announced with fanfare in the previous budget speeches and the government's capacity has significantly diminished. Examples are POSHAN, Jal Jeevan Mission, NSAP, PMGSY, Crop Insurance Scheme, Urea Subsidy and Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana," Chidambaram said.

He claimed that the railways has been shortchanged.

"If you examine the railways' specific heads of expenditure, you will find that the BE 2024-25 was Rs 2,06,961 crore while the RE 2024-25 is Rs 2,12,786 crore, and the BE 2025-26 is Rs 2,13,552 crore.

"The railways serves the overwhelming majority of the population. The increase of a paltry Rs 766 crore in 2025-26 will not even account for the inflation. The allocation will be less than last year's allocation," the former finance minister said.

"On the much-vaunted PLI schemes plus the New Employment Generation Scheme plus the Skill India programme that were promised to create thousands of jobs, the youngsters of this country have been cheated. Against a BE 2024-25 of Rs 26,018 crore, the actual expenditure will be only Rs 15,286 crore," Chidambaram said.