Former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram expressed concern on Wednesday on reports that the government had invoked a hitherto unused section of the RBI Act to direct the central bank to act at its bidding, saying it shows that the government is "desperate" and "hiding facts" about the economy.

"If, as reported, government has invoked Section 7 of the RBI Act and issued unprecedented directions to the RBI, I am afraid there will be more bad news today," Chidambaram said in a series of tweets. He said that the Congress governments did not invoke Section 7 in 1991 or 1997 or 2008 or 2013. "What is the need to invoke the provision now? It shows that government is hiding facts about the economy and is desperate," Chidambaram maintained.