Chidambaram Welcomes PM's Announcements on Population Control, Respect for Wealth Creators

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Friday hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcements on population control, respect for wealth creators and shunning single-use plastic.

Chidambaram said he hoped the finance minister and tax officials would pay heed to the prime minister's exhortation.

"All of us must welcome three announcements made by the PM on I-Day. Small family is a patriotic duty; Respect wealth creators and Shun single-use plastic.

"Of the three exhortations, I hope the FM and her legion of tax officials and investigators heard the PM's second exhortation loud and clear (sic)," he said in a tweet.

Chidambaram's statement comes after the death of noted entrepreneur V G Siddhartha, who committed suicide after being allegedly under "pressure" from the tax authorities, which he indicated in his last letter to his company's top management. Siddhartha was the son-in-law of former External Affairs minister S M Krishna, who has joined the BJP.

Congress has also attacked the government over Siddhartha's death.

Chidambaram said, "The first and third exhortations must become people's movements. There are hundreds of dedicated voluntary organisations that are willing to lead the movements at local levels."

Reacting to the remarks, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said there was nothing wrong in what the former finance minister has said.

"Our opposition is only on one thing that the prime minister is an expert in talking about development and making announcements about it, but we would want that whatever the prime minister says should be implemented," Singhvi said.

Addressing the nation on the 73rd Independence Day on Thursday, the prime minister expressed concern over "population explosion" in the country, saying it causes innumerable challenges for the coming generations, and asserted that the central and state governments should launch measures to deal with the issue.

He also said wealth creators should not be eyed with suspicion and that they are country's wealth and should be respected.

He urged people to shun single-use plastic and encouraged usage of jute and cloth bags to protect the environment.