The Congress on Friday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his comment that the UPA Government had left behind empty coffers.
At a press conference here, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, said the BJP/NDA Government needed to come out of ‘campaign mode’ and ‘get on with the business of governance’.
“The world economy is sluggish and there are strong headwinds such as the situation in Iraq. This is a time when hard decisions are required,” he said, adding that the UPA, too, had to tackle a crisis when crude oil prices shot up to $147/barrel.
Questioning Modi on what he meant when he said “there is nothing left behind by the previous Government”, Chidambaram listed out the cash balance, foreign exchange reserves and outstanding liabilities left behind by the UPA Government.
The former Finance Minister said just after the NDA Government demitted office, the opening balance on June 1, 2004 was a ‘negative’ Rs 2,730 crore, apart from a ways and means advance. “On the other hand, the opening cash balance on 1.6.2014, just after the UPA Government demitted office, was Rs 26,510 crore,” he said, asking “who left behind an empty treasury?”
He said forex reserves do not belong to the Government, but if Modi was referring to these, it stood at $113 billion at the end of 2003-04, while at the end of 2013-14, before the Modi Government took over, these stood at $304 billion. “So, who left behind more foreign exchange reserves?” he asked.
In case Modi was referring to outstanding liabilities, Chidambaram said the Central Government has had these since 1950-51, including public debt.
“Assuming the Prime Minister’s argument was that the Government has high debt, that is indeed true,” he said adding that it was no different when the NDA was in office between 1998 and 2004, as also when the UPA was in office between 2004 and 2014. “And, if we may make a prediction, it will be no different during the period of Modi sarkar ,” he added.
Wishing the Modi Government “well in its efforts”, Chidambaram said they would soon realise that not all factors were under their control. If crude prices rise further and there is deficient rainfall, the Government will face difficulties, for which they need to take appropriate measures, he added.