Finance Minister Taunts Congress For Illogical Freebies Promises In Manifesto

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman taunted the Congress on the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) versus the New Pension Scheme. She referred to a question posed by an India Today reporter about the absence of the Old Pension Scheme. In response, former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram stated that the Finance Secretary would review it, and adding it to the manifesto would be premature. Sitharaman retorted by asking whether it was also premature when the Congress demanded funds for the scheme in Rajasthan and promised the same in Himachal Pradesh. She emphasized that the Congress’s manifesto promises were illogical, given the budgetary impact of allocating funds for freebies. According to her, the available funds fell short of meeting these commitments