The BJP criticized former Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's remarks comparing Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh's debt, calling them a "political statement that hides the truth." The BJP argued that while borrowing for capital expenditure can drive growth, spending on populist schemes is detrimental. They emphasized that the effective utilization of borrowed funds for infrastructure and asset creation is key to economic improvement, contrasting this with Chidambaram's focus on total debt figures.