Budget 2019: 'Wobbly' economy needed 'bold' steps, says Chidambaram

Chidambaram said domestic consumption, the only engine of economic growth that was firing, is also sputtering now

Leading the Opposition charge as the Rajya Sabha resumed its discussion on the Union Budget on Thursday, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget speech was “insipid”, that it lacked a macroeconomic view and failed to propose any structural reforms.

Chidambaram, one of over 40 speakers to take part in the discussion, said the finance minister inherited a “wobbly” economy from her predecessor, and a weak economy needed “a bold approach” and structural reforms. 

The Congress leader said that he and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, whom he credited with undertaking most structural reforms, wished they