Union Budget 2020: Finance Ministers who recited poetry while presenting budget

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recited the verses of ‘Myon Vatan’ written by Kashmiri poet and Sahitya Akademi winner Dinanath Kaul while presenting the annual budget. Through the poem, Sitharaman wanted to convey that every action of the government is dedicated to the nation.

“Saun Watan Gulzar Shalamaar Hyur, Dal Manz Pholvun Pamposh Hyuv, Navjavan-an-hund, Vushun Khumaar Hyuv, Myon Vatan, Chyon Vatan, Saun Vatan, Nundbony Vatan,” recited Sitharaman which loosely translates to, “Our country is like a blooming Shalimar Bagh, our country is like the lotus blooming in the Dal Lake; it is like the boiling blood of the youth, my country, your country, the world’s most beloved country”.

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Minister reciting poetry in the past

But it’s not the time when a Union Finance Minister has resorted to poetry while presenting the budget. In 2001, the then Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha recited a verse of an unknown poet saying, “Taqaazaa hai waqt kaa ke toofaan se joojho, kahaan tak chaloge kinaare kinaare”. The verse meant, “The times require you to fight the storms. How long will you keep walking on the shore?”

Later in 2007, Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram quoted famous Tamil poet and philosopher saint Thiruvalluvar.  “Uzhavinar Kai Madangin Illai Vizhaivathoom Vittame Enbarkum Nilai. (If ploughmen keep their hands folded, even sages claiming renunciation cannot find salvation),” said Chidambaram.

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Former President Pranab Mukherjee also recited a Sanskrit verse of Kautilya while presenting the Union Budget in 2009. “Just as one plucks fruits from a garden as they ripen, so shall a King have revenue collected as it becomes due. Just as one does not collect unripe fruits, he shall avoid taking wealth that is not due because that will make the people angry and spoil the very sources of revenue,” the verse meant.

During the 2016 Union Budget, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Finance Minister late Arun Jaitley resorted to poetic barbs targeted at the opposition for criticising demonetisation. "Roshni aa ke andheron se jo takrayi hai, Kaale dhan ko bhi badalna pada aaj apna rang," recited Jaitley and explained that the light emerging from the darkness has forced even the black money to change its colour.

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