The Finance Minister also pointed out that the National Stock Exchange scam happened during UPA’s era.
Hitting back at former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who attacked the BJP government’s economic and foreign policies in the run-up to the Punjab elections, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman called him a PM who is remembered for the “notorius status of India being brought to a fragile five economy” and asked whether he could speak “only for electoral purposes”.
“A Prime Minister who is most remembered for having brought India to a fragile five economy… a prime minister who could not control inflation 22 months continuously, a prime minister who saw capital fly away from this country – how come this (former) Prime Minister today all of a sudden remembered about the Indian economy?… Is it only for the Punjab elections?” she said in an interaction with journalists, hours after Singh released his video message, in Punjabi, Thursday.
Singh said the BJP government did not understand economics. “Because of their wrong economic policies, unemployment is at its peak, farmers and entrepreneurs, women, and students are all facing problems,” he said.
Sitharaman said she did not expect such an attack from “a learned Prime Minister”. “He also commented on inclusiveness. Why could he not speak when vaccines were being sold for a profit in Punjab? He did not speak out to say vaccines were for not for profit-making (the Congress government was accused of diverting vaccines to private hospitals). Dr. Manmohan Singh, I have great regards for you, but I did not expect this from you. Can only electoral considerations make a learned Prime Minister of this country talk ill of a country which is growing at this pace, the fastest-growing economy post-pandemic?” the Finance Minister said.
Quoting GDP numbers, Sitharaman said the value at market prices stands at Rs 232 lakh crore now whereas it was Rs 110 lakh crore seven-eight years ago. Foreign Exchange Reserves are at $630 billion, from $275 billion seven years ago. Average inflation during 2013-14 was 9.5%, while it is 5.23% now, she said.
Sitharaman also listed alleged scams during UPA time, including at the National Stock Exchange (NSE). “That itself is enough to assess your government. You could not do anything,” she said. The market regulator SEBI has passed several strictures against the NSE and its former chief executives Chitra Ramkrishna and Ravi Narain over several violations. “All the appointments that are under question were made during UPA time,” the minister said. On the Oxfam India Inequality Kills report, which indicated a widening gap between the rich and poor, Sitharaman said its methodology and the criteria it used were flawed. “The report in question is based on flawed metrics. One of them is to measure wealth using Asset Liability data… (that is) a decline in wealth happens when liabilities or debts increase,” she said.
Sitharaman argued: “When a poor household is able to go to a bank and borrow, thanks to financial inclusion due to Jan Dhan Yojana, it is able to increase its consumption. This improves the living standards of their family. It allows them to borrow for education and grow their business and increases their capacity to earn more and consume more. That’s why taking liabilities is a flawed methodology and does not measure the actual impact of these so-called ‘liabilities’ on actual welfare and wealth.”
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