Advani slams Union Budget as 'uninspiring'

BJP said while Chidambaram pointed out "deficiencies" in the NDA Govt, he should have acknowledged the assets he inherited.

BJP on Monday slammed the Union Budget as "uninspiring and lacking in boldness", which "betrayed a lack of confidence about the UPA Government's longevity".

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"I find the Budget uninspiring and lacking in boldness. It contains a plethora of promises and, correspondingly, a string of announcements about outlays. However, as the Finance Minister himself has admitted, 'outlays are not outcomes'," party President LK Advani said in a statement in New Delhi.

"The Finance Minister's attempt to play safe has dampened expectations, which is an outcome of the enormous pull and pressures that the UPA Government has been facing. There is a conspicuous reluctance to take any new bold steps that may be perceived as treading on anyone's toes. This only betrays a lack of confidence about the UPA Government's longevity," he said.

Meanwhile, senior party leader and former Finance Minister Jaswant Singh accused his successor P Chidambaram of "attempting to dress up untenable assertions as if they were pathbreaking new thoughts".

"He has attempted to dress what he inherited as new or even belittle it. There is some lip service to the Common Minimum Programme but there is more of minimum than common. It is a lawyer's Budget and not a leader's."

Charging the Finance Minister with being "narrow in approach and lacking even customary grace", the BJP leader said while Chidambaram had pointed out "deficiencies" in the previous Government, he should have acknowledged the assets he inherited.