Worst message from parliamentary democracy is approval to budget without discussion, says Chidambaram

NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram on Friday said the “worst message” from a parliamentary democracy is approval to a budget without discussion.

His remarks came a day after the Lok Sabha approved the Union Budget envisaging an expenditure of around Rs 45 lakh crore for the fiscal year starting April 1 without any discussion.

“The worst message from a parliamentary democracy is to approve a Budget without discussion,” Chidambaram said in a tweet.

“Rs 45,03,097 crore will be raised and spent for the ‘people’ in 2023-24 without the people’s representatives offering their views on the Budget,” he said.

The Lower House of Parliament took up the Demands for Grants and Appropriation Bills after two adjournments as the ruling and opposition MPs’ verbal duel over their respective demands for an apology by Rahul Gandhi over his remarks in the UK and a joint parliamentary committee probe into the Adani issue continued.

Most of the second leg of the Budget Session has been washed out due to the protest by both sides and it was one of the rare occasions when the Budget was passed without any discussion.