20 lakh crore economic package? Many left high and dry: P Chidambaram

New Delhi: The government's mega relief package worth over Rs 20 lakh crore for the coronavirus-hit economy "has left several sections high and dry", former Finance Minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said .

Calling the announcements made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman a "thorough disappointment", he urged the government to reconsider the stimulus, according to NDTV report.

"A fiscal stimulus of Rs 1,86,650 crore amounting to barely 0.91 per cent of GDP will be totally inadequate given the gravity of the economic crisis and the dire situation in which people find themselves," Chidambaram said in a statement.

He urged the government to announce a revised package of "not less than Rs 10 lakh crore of real additional expenditure equivalents to 10 per cent of GDP".

Chidambaram also accused the government of bypassing parliament and a discussion on the package. "I think government is deliberately sidelining parliament. The government is being opportunistic by pushing reforms, it is bypassing discussion in parliament and this will be resisted," the Congress leader said.