Accusing the Government of thriving on allegations, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram wondered what happened to the much hyped 2G scam and the coal scam. “There has been one or two convictions so far in the coal scam and in the 2G scam the prosecution failed to even frame charges against the then telecom minister with the court throwing out the charge sheet, he added.

While the Government and the media can presume everyone guilty till they are proved innocent, as a lawyer he would not comment unless charges are framed in court and a trial held before passing judgment on allegations. Referring to charges levelled against his son Karti, he said that there were no cases against his son yet but there were allegations.

Taking a swipe on the Prime Minister, he said that even Prime Minister Narendra Modi had stopped talking about ‘Achhe Din’ and bringing the exchange value of Rupee to ₹40 to a US Dollar. “I do not blame him. Most chief ministers do not understand ‘macro economics’.

Refuting allegations that most of the loans to big business houses, which have become Non-performing Assets, were disbursed during the term of the UPA, former finance minister P Chidambaram told a news website that all these assets were ‘performing assets’ in 2014 and it was for the Modi Government to explain why they became ‘Non-Performing assets’ during the last forty months.

As Finance Minister, Chidambaram said, he had on no occasion lifted the telephone and asked any chairman of a bank to grant any loan to any businessman. Most big loans, he pointed out, are lent by a consortium of banks and nobody in the UPA could influence several bank chairmen to loosen purse strings in favour of anyone. “I do not know about this government,” he pointedly added.

Referring to the former State Bank of India chairman Arundhati Ghosh, Chidambaram pointed out that even she had gone on record to say that nobody had ever called her from the UPA for a loan.

Action against Vijay Mallya were initiated by the UPA, he added in an interview to news website thewire.in.

Coming down heavily on the NDA Government, Chidambaram described GST as a caricature of a tax with eight rates, multiple cesses and the allowance given to the states to withdraw what they liked. Gujarat Government recently had withdrawn or lowered GST on several locally made goods, he declared.

More responsible governments will have to reverse many of the decisions taken by the Modi Government, said former Union Minister P Chidambaram in an interview to a news website. Pointing to draconian changes made in the Income Tax Act, Chidambaram said that while the very big and very powerful businessmen were being protected, the central agencies have turned the full glare on smaller entrepreneurs, making them averse to invest.(NH)