It was a visibly healthier Arun Jaitley on show today. A far cry from last year, when he had to take two breaks during his speech.

Having shed weight after a surgery, Jaitley looked in control, and even declined Speaker Sumitra Mahajan’s suggestion that he sit and read out his speech. Though he did sit, for about half an hour, he stood up to conclude his speech.

Watched by his family — wife, son, daughter and son-in-law in the visitor’s gallery — Jaitley set off reciting a Hindi couplet that highlighted “inheritance” issues such as “low growth, high inflation, and zero investor confidence in the government’s ability to govern.”

Swipe at the Opposition

Taking a dig at the Opposition, the Finance Minister said: “We had to work in an unsupportive global environment, adverse weather conditions and an obstructive political atmosphere…We have faced challenges from both aasmani (the skies) and sultani (administrative) forces.”.

To state what he intended to do for the “regeneration of India”, Jaitley quoted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s idol, Swami Vivekananda, who once said: “No amount of politics would be of any avail until the masses in India are well educated, well fed and well cared for”.

With crucial Assembly polls ahead, the 77-page speech had a decidedly rural flavour, with 20 references to rural India and the rural economy.

But of farmer suicides there was no mention, and only one reference each to “drought” and “rural distress”.

Also, the Finance Minister mentioned the word ‘inflation’ only thrice, once in relation to ‘legacy’ and twice while referring to the consumer price index.

Related Topics