In an era where court decisions are also prepared using the AI-Interested Chatbot, Chhattisgarh Finance Minister OP Chaudhary introduced his personal dedication by presenting a handwritten budget of 100 pages in Hindi, which reflects his practical approach and commitment to the process of preparing the budget.
Chaudhary, a former IAS, who quit his job to join politics as he considered it a big medium to serve the public, really worked till midnight, for the financial year starting on 1 April, on March 4, the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly was barely two hours before the budget was presented in the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly.
This rare task reflects the state’s financial plan and a sense of ownership and dedication to the goals, especially because most of the budget documents are usually prepared by a team of officers or typed on the computer.
He said, “I was writing my (budget) speech and I realized that a handwritten document expresses more to my feelings, my emotions, my attitude, my commitment and my attachment. And so, I thought I thought I should write it in my handwriting.”
He showed his 100 -page handwritten documents and said that handwritten documents reflect attachment and emotions better.
Asked how long it took how long it took to write the entire document, he said that the budget was going on for 5-6 months, but started about a week or 10 days before the actual writing presentation on the components of the budget.
He said, “I (before the budget presentation) could not sleep for four nights. In those four nights I could barely sleep 1-1.5 hours. And that was the time when I wrote the budget.”
He said that the Act reflects his personal participation and commitment to the state’s finance. This is probably the first time a Finance Minister has presented a handwritten annual budget in the Legislative Assembly.
Their move is being seen as an expression of caution in preparing the budget and attention to the nuances. Personal touch gave a special importance to financial planning for the state and emphasized the minister’s vision to handle transparency and state finance with direct involvement.
The minister said, “The handwritten budget is a symbol of authenticity and transparency in governance.”
In the budget of Rs 1,65,100 crore, a roadmap has been prepared for the rapid economic progress of the state, in which special attention has been paid to the development of leftist extremism affected Bastar.
Chaudhary said that last year’s budget knowledge (poor, youth, Annadata and women) focused on the theme, while the purpose of this year’s budget is to pursue progress in the state under the ‘speed’ theme for knowledge, so that the progress made so far can be carried forward.
He said that in ‘speed’ ‘G’ means good governance, ‘A’ means quick infrastructure, ‘T’ means technology and ‘I’ means industrial development. He said, “The last year’s budget laid the foundation for inclusive development. This year’s budget has presented the next step in that development journey.”
Chaudhary, a 2005 batch IAS officer, resigned from the post of Raipur Collector and joined BJP. His strong hold on Hindi, a subject he had read during the preparation of UPSC helped him write a budget in his favorite style.
He said, “In 13 years of my bureaucracy I worked with full dedication and gave my 100 percent. I was at the peak of my career … I was the collector of the capital Raipur.” He remembered what he inspired him to provide quick service and enter politics.
The minister said, “I got an idea that there is so much development in India, there are so many opportunities in India. There are so many opportunities to do. So, I thought that if there is a platform bigger than civil services, then it is politics.”
He said that politics is a big means of making a big impact on people’s lives than bureaucracy.
He said, “I had read in childhood that the result of good people not coming into politics is that the bad people start ruling good people. Therefore, I was inspired by this idea and decided to enter politics.”
Chaudhary said that he has come into politics, influenced by the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. He lost the first election in 2018, but will win from Raigad seat in 2023.
