In photos: 5 times finance ministers recited poems, quoted writers in Budget speeches
Union Budget speeches are known to go on for hours. On many occasions, finance ministers have made them colourful by including poetic verses, and quotes from famous writers. Ahead of Budget 2023, here is a look at five of those moments.
In her 2021 Budget speech, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman included a quote from Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. "Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark," she said in the speech. Another quote in her Budget speech was from the Tamil poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar. "A king/ruler is the one who creates and acquires wealth, protects and distributes it for common good," Sitharaman quoted him, while making tax-related announcements. (Image credit: AFP)
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In 2016, Arun Jaitley was the finance minister. While presenting the Union Budget, he recited an Urdu couplet to highlight the challenges the BJP government faced. "Kashti chalaane walon ne jab haar kar di patwar hamein, lehar lehar toofan mile aur mauj mauj manjdhaar hamein. Phir bhi dikhaya hai humne, aur phir yeh dikha denge sabko, in halato mein aata hai daria karna paar humein." We found storms and rapids in each wave. But we showed, and will continue showing, we know how to cross the river, even in these circumstances. (Image credit: AFP)
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P Chidambaram, who was the finance minister in the Congress government in 2007, included the poet Thiruvalluvar's verse about good governance in his Budget speech. "Generous grants, compassion, righteous rule and succour to the downtrodden are the hallmarks of good governance," a translation of the verse read. (Image credit: AFP)
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Yashwant Sinha recited the following verse during his 2001 Budget speech, while speaking about reforms. "Taqaazaa hai waqt ka ke toofaan se joojho, kahaan tak chaloge kinaare kinaare?". The times require you to battle the storms. How long will you keep walking the shore? (Image credit: AFP)
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As the finance minister in 1991, Manmohan Singh presented a landmark budget that kickstarted the opening up of India's economy. During his Budget speech, Singh quoted the iconic French writer Victor Hugo while talking about India's economic potential. "Victor Hugo once said, “no power on earth can stop an idea whose time has come.” I suggest to this august House that the emergence of India as a major economic power in the world happens to be one such idea," Singh said. (File photo)
