Chidambaram attacks government; asks how many jobs it created

Representational PicSenior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Thursday attacked the NDA government over its last full budget before the general elections insisting it would ramp up fiscal deficit He also assailed the Modi government over job creation In a series of tweets the former finance minister also said the government has projected that gross tax revenue will grow by 167 per cent when nominal GDP growth will be 115 per cent He wanted to know whether the tax growth rate of 167 per cent was realistic or ambitious or aggressiveBudget 201819 has made the fiscal deficit worse 35 per cent against 32 per cent in 201718 and 33 per cent against 30 per cent in 201819 What are the estimates of the Current Account Deficit for 201718 and 201819 he tweeted Chidambaram said every deficit has breached the target set by the government and asked whether the impact of these high deficits be inflationary as currently the WPI Wholesale Price Index is 36 per cent and CPI Consumer Price Index 52 per centWhat are the estimates of average WPI and average CPI for 201718 and 201819 he asked The yield on 10year treasury bond on 31 January 2018 was 743 per cent and it stood yesterday at 757 per cent Is this a signal that interest rates will rise across all debt instruments Will the rise in interest rates be inflationary he said Chidambaram said if the price of crude oil rises to USD 70 or 75 per barrel how will it impact the government budget estimates especially the deficitsWill you raise the retail prices of petrol and diesel or will you cut the central excise duties on petrol and diesel The senior Congress leader said the government will borrow an additional Rs 48000 crore in 201718 Another Rs 37000 crore was borrowed by the ONGC on behalf of the government But where did this Rs 85000 crore goThe total expenditure in 201718 increased by Rs 71000 crore but revenue expenditure increased by Rs 107371 crore and is this not evidence of a spendthrift government that has abandoned all norms of fiscal prudence Chidambaram said the capital expenditure was budgeted in 201718 for Rs 309801 crore and the revised estimate is Rs 273445 crore iquest a shortfall of Rs 36000 crore Which are the schemes and projects that took a hit in capital expenditure he asked Before you assumed office you promised 2 crore jobs a yearThe ILO International Labour Organisation describes a proper job as employment that is certain regular and reasonably secure What is your definition of a job How many ILOdescribed jobs were created in the four years of your government he said Chidambaram said in 201718 the budget estimates of customs duties was Rs 245000 crore and the revised estimates show a drastic fall to Rs 135242 croreIs there a story there that you have not yet told the country and the people he asked The former finance minister said the GST came into effect on 1 July 2017 and the GST revenue collection for 201718 is estimated at Rs 444631 crore He wanted to know if the collection was for 8 months excluding March 2018 or for 9 months or for 11 months as the government has been repeatedly saying For 201819 you have projected the following growth rates Corporation tax 1015 per cent Income tax 1988 per cent GST a whopping 6731 per cent Is there a philosophy of taxation that you wish to share with the people of India he saidCatch up on all the latest Mumbai National and International news hereDownload the new midday Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go