As several states going to elections this year, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday cautioned against increasing trend of “freebies” and highlighted how “lofty promises” impacted development works in Congress-ruled Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh.

Speaking to Network18 Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi at News18 Chaupal, Sitharaman said political parties need to understand the state’s budget before making any promise which can burden the exchequer.

The Finance Minister pointed out that Himachal Pradesh is not able to pay salaries to government employees while development works were hit in Karnataka due to freebies announced by Congress before elections.

“Every state and the Centre will have to look at work which is capable of being undertaken by every government. Any party aspiring to get to the Centre or state government. We have to understand what the budget is capable of taking up. Will a state be in a position to undertake developmental activities and freebies and get it funded through the assembly or parliament, then announce schemes? Then when states struggles to implement them because they don’t have the resource and ways to increase revenue then comes the problem,” she said.

“Classic example is of Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh where they gave a lot of promises without doing homework. What is the condition of these states? They were going to pay OPS. They are not able to pay current salaries. In Karnataka, there were number of promises and they said they were not able to take up development work” she added.

False Narratives: FM On Govt’s ‘U-turns’

When asked if she had any pressure due to coalition government, Sitharaman said, “Some people set some narrative. Some false narratives are also coming up… U-turn word is also used… We prepare budget after taking opinions of people across the country. Based on suggestions, we implement some. In Indexation and capital gains, we listened to the people. We brought it after consultations… I am accommodating suggestions which has come from people for their benefit. This is not a U-turn.”

FM Calls Rahul Gandhi ‘Careless’

Reacting to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s attacks on India’s economy, the Finance Minister said he is being careless despite become the Leader of the Opposition.

“It is very difficult to react to Rahul Gandhi… Despite becoming leader of opposition, he is still talking he can be careless and just throw anything at ruling party and get away with it. Unless he is going to acquire some seriousness about the kind of issue he is talking in India and abroad, people of India will also become hopeless about him. I’m sure he does not want it,” he said.

On Gandhi’s “controlled election in India” remark, Sitharaman said that the Congress leader cries foul whenever the BJP registers win in elections but does not utter a word when his party wins.

“He did not say that when he won elections in some states. When results are in their favour, everything is good. When BJP wins elections, polls are not fair. Till elections, the EC was accused and when they managed to touch 100, then EC is not wrong. I think outcome of 2024 polls was that the government of the day has to get going with the lot of work and the opposition was given a bit more stature with decent numbers to sit in opposition to do the job of the opposition… He go around the world speaking against the country, and even Mrs Gandhi wouldn’t want to do it outside the country. He goes and accuse the country,” he said.

When asked if there is any interactional conspiracy to bring down Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, Sitharaman said, “All over the world there is attempt to change the regimes. This year, there are 50 nations going to elections. The narrative in each of the country is this everybody who in serious politics are saying are we having our democratic process working within this country or are we having our democratic processes being influenced by something else.”

“Or say when you say something elese to somebody else it’s not a direct participation, there are people within their respective countries who will play this role happily. But that is where I think democratic countries will now to look at how to handle such situation in a more matured fashion,” she added.