Union Budget 2019: Nirmala Sitharaman's Red Budget Ledger's story revealed, here's why the Finance Minister dumped the leather briefcase

The Chief Economic Advisor KV Subramanian spoke about the red ledger used by Finance Minister Nirmala SItharaman to carry the budget documents.

He said that the Union Finance Minister believes that leather made products are not auspicious for the big occasion, hence, she avoided the leather bag, and instead used the red bhaikhatta (ledger). It is the traditional bhaikhatta (ledger). It is good omen and that we should appreciate our culture. He also said that it symbolises a departure of slavery from our western thought.

"The Finance Minister knows the tradition of our country and is following Indian culture and tradition, we must appreciate her decision," he said.

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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday, July 5, reached the Finance Ministry in the North Block if the Raisina Hill with what looked like a red folio. Making a huge departure from tradition, she carried with her not a typical briefcase to carry the budget file but the Indian bhaikhatta having emblem of India designed on it.

She posed in front of the Finance Ministry with it containing all the documents concerning the Budget, i.e the most powerful box.

Below is a video of Sitharaman's parents arriving at the Parliament ahead of the Finance Minister's budget speech -

READ | Union Budget 2019: No Briefcase For Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister Uses Red Folio Ahead Of Her Maiden Budget Speech

The traditional briefcase

In 1860, the then British budget chief William Ewart Gladstone, known for his long speeches, used a red suitcase with Queen's monogram embossed in gold to carry his bundle of papers. As he was asked to 'open the budget' while presenting his statement, the tradition of the 'budget' started. 

This British tradition trickled to its then colony India too. Even after Independence in the first ever budget presented by the then Finance Minister RK Shanmukham Chetty on 26 November 1947, the budget briefcase was carried by Chetty.  Similarly, in 1958, Jawaharlal Nehru who presented that year's budget carried a black briefcase, which was repeated by former prime minister Manmohan Singh in 1991. Singh's finance minister - Pranab Mukherjee carried a red briefcase, which was the preferred choice of this year's interim budget presenter - Piyush Goyal on February 1.

Union Budget 2019: No Briefcase For Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister Uses Red Folio Ahead Of Her Maiden Budget Speech