Chidambaram Hopes Nirmala Sitharaman Will Fill PM Modi's 'Blank Page'

Former Finance Minister and Congress leader P Chidambaram on Wednesday lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving a blank page on Tuesday night in his address to the nation. Taking to the popular microblogging site Twitter, Chidambaram observed that what the Prime Minister gave were a headline and a blank page. He claimed that naturally, his reaction was also a blank.

The Congress leader further said that "we look forward to the Finance Minister filling the blank page. We will carefully count every additional rupee that the government will actually infuse into the economy."

Chidambaram wished to know what poor migrant workers who had travelled hundreds of kilometres on foot, would get at the end of their journey from the Modi government. The Congress leader added that they would also study as to what extent 13 crore families which constituted the lowest rungs of society benefited from the Modi government's economic package.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala also accused Prime Minister Modi of giving a 'headline' to the media. He said that the nation awaited a helpline for the poor. The Congress spokesman also said that they would wait till the promise was turned into reality.

Randeep Surjewala also reiterated the point made by Congress leader Chidambaram seeking economic relief for migrant labourers. He accused Prime Minister Modi of being insensitive to the suffering of workers who are the builders of the nation.