Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Tuesday said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gave a "tortuous" explanation to his question about capital expenditure and asserted that the numbers "conclusively" proved that there was a "cut" in capex during 2024-25. Chidambaram said this in a statement late this evening while responding to the answers given by Sitharaman in the Rajya Sabha. The former finance minister said Sitharaman has given a "laboured and tortuous" explanation to a simple question on what was the budget estimate for capital expenditure in the 2024-25 budget and what is the estimate at the end of year. "There is a reduction (cut), and I asked in the Rajya Sabha what are the reasons for the cut? FM could have listed the reasons and it is for the people to decide whether the reasons are acceptable or not. "Instead, she has questioned the very comparison of BE and RE. I am astonished that the Hon'ble FM should say that comparison of BE and RE is 'flawed'. If BE and RE ar