Dehradun: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present the Union Budget for the sixth time on February 1. Morarji Desai holds the record of presenting the Budget for a highest number of 10 times followed by P. Chidambaram, who presented the Budget for nine times. Notably, there are three Union Finance Ministers who could not present the Budget during their tenures.
They are Kshitij Chandra Niyogi, who was the second Finance Minister of Independent India, Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna, who was Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister twice and Narayan Dutt Tiwari, who was Uttar Pradesh CM thrice, Uttarakhand CM once and Andhra Pradesh Governor.
Kshitij Chandra Niyogi, who hailed from Bengal, was the chairman of the country's first Finance Commission in 1951. Prior to which, in August 1948, he took over after India's first Finance Minister RK Shanmukham but his tenure was only for 35 days and so, he did not get a chance to present the Union Budget. In September 1948, the Finance Minister's post went to John Mathai.
Thus, Niyogi became the first Finance Minister of the country who could not present the Union Budget. He was also a member of the Constituent Assembly and got a berth in Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's Cabinet.
Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna, a four-time MP and two-time Uttar Pradesh CM got the charge of Finance Ministry in Chaudhary Charan Singh government in 1979. But, his tenure as the 13th Finance Minister was from July 28 to October 25, 1979. Due to Bahuguna's short stint he did not get a chance to read a Budget speech.
He had hit the headlines after being defeated by Congress candidate and Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan in Allahabad Lok Sabha constituency in 1984.
While Niyogi and Bahuguna could not present the Budget due to their short tenures, Narayan Dutt Tiwari had a much longer tenure but still could not read the Budget. Tiwari was the Finance Minister in Rajiv Gandhi government for a year from July 25, 1987 to June 25, 1988. But, he could not present the Budget since PM Rajiv Gandhi had himself presented the Budget that year.
Uttarakhand CM, three-time Uttar Pradesh CM and Andhra Pradesh Governor, Tiwari, became the MLA for the first time in 1952 and had a long political career. Barring the prime ministerial post, Tiwari held almost all the major posts. He had also served as the Foreign Minister in the Rajiv Gandhi government. After quitting Congress, Tiwari formed a separate party named Congress (Tiwari).
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