P Chidambaram says Modi govt is a ‘terrible patient’

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram dubbed the NDA government a “terrible patient” who diagnoses himself and refuses to take the doctor’s prescription.

Commenting on the economic situation in the country, the former finance minister also said that chief economic adviser (CEA) Arvind Subramanian a good doctor.

“Arvind Subramanian has been a good doctor since his appointment as the CEA in October 2014. The NDA government has been a terrible patient,” he tweeted.

“The government continues to be in denial. It denies the objective situation in the economy. It denies farm distress. It denies joblessness. It denies the opposition’s arguments. Now, it denies even the diagnosis and the prescription of the doctor it engaged in 2014,” he alleged.

Chidambaram also said he regarded the CEA as the doctor-in-residence to check his health of his “patient” every day and prescribe the course of treatment. “A bad patient will not take the medicines, and make his own diagnosis and prescription,” he said.

In a series of tweets, the minister said the budget was an occasion to outline the reforms and set a schedule.

The Congressman leader said the Economic Survey emphasised the four Rs (Recognition, Resolution, Recapitalisation and Reforms) and pointed out that although the first three were done, banking reforms remain.

“It is striking that the Centre’s tax-GDP ratio is no higher than it was in the 1980s,” he said, quoting the survey.