Former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Thursday said there was no point in trying to talk up the economy as it was not a circus lion that would respond to a ringmaster.
In a series of tweets, Mr. Chidambaram, who was reacting a day after senior officials spoke on the state of the economy , asserted that unless the government put money in the hands of the people, it would not help.
“Is it not intriguing that the RBI Governor, the SEBI Chairman and the DEA Secretary should speak on the same day on the same subject ? All three have tried to “talk up” the economy. I wish the economy was a circus lion that would respond to the stick of the ringmaster !”
On Wednesday, Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das said that India was at the doorstep of an economic recovery.
Responding to the comments, Mr. Chidambaram said the economy was largely determined by the market, laws of demand and supply, purchasing power and sentiments of the people.
“The three distinguished men should tell the Finance Minister, in unison, that the vast majority of the people do not have the money or the inclination to buy goods and services. Unless the government puts money in the hands of the bottom half of the families and puts food on the plates of the poor, the economy will not revive smartly,” he said.
The former Union Minister cited the example of election-bound Bihar, where voters reportedly complained about an “existential crisis” because of no work or income.
“If you doubt what I say, just listen to the voices of the voters of Bihar on their existential crisis — no work or not enough work, no income or little income, and their thoughts are on surviving, not on spending,” he said.
