Full budget utterly unconstitutional: Yashwant Sinha

Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, January 28

Former finance minister Yashwant Sinha said on Monday it would be “highly improper and utterly unconstitutional” to present a full Budget, as debate continues days before Budget session begins.

He said at an interaction with the Indian Women’s Press Corps as the opposition continues to oppose a full-Budget months before general elections in the country.

Speaking on the state of the country’s economy, he said: "(Economic) Figures are being dressed up and changed ".

“I don’t trust the economic figures given out by the government anymore,” he said. “If we are really are the fastest growing economy, you shouldn’t be having problems of agrarian distress, jobless growth. You wouldn’t have to dress up figures,” he said.  

He said the country was experiencing agrarian crisis at an “unprecedented scale”, as launched a scathing attack against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government on issues ranging from distressed agricultural sector, unemployment to rising non-performing assets in banks.

On the current state of polity he said power was “concentrated in one person, one office”, clearing hinting at the Prime Minister’s Office.

"The constitutional offices are under threat. The home minister did not know about withdrawal of support from Mehbobba Mufti and PDP,” he said.

"The Finance Minister did not know about demonetisation. The system of appointment of judges is in a mess. Less said the better about the state of affairs in the RBI and the CBI.”

"The NSA met party president Amit Shah to get directions. The minister of external affairs does not travel with the PM. During my tenure as MEA, there wasn’t a single occasion I did not travel with the then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

"So far as bureaucracy is concerned, they look at the PMO and not their minister for guidance. Something the minister does not even know. Every institution of the government is under threat, it has been devalued.”

On corruption, he said: "Apart from Rafale many cases of corruption has not come to light, but the fact so many wrongdoers have fled the country is also unprecedented".