Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday questioned the Government’s economic policies and said that ‘India is not in good shape’. Unveiling a research document on the state of the Indian economy, Singh pointed that even international bodies and rating agencies have projected a lower economic growth. The BJP countered the allegations by saying that Modi’s Government had “turned around” a fragile economy it had inherited when it came to power in 2014 even as it said they “needed no certificate” from the two “failed economists”.
“International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said growth will slip to less than 6.6 per cent,” Singh said releasing ‘Real State of Economy’, a document the Congress has drawn up. Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram was present on the occasion.
“Tomorrow is the day when the Government will present its economic survey. We thought it a good idea that we should also bring out a document that sets out what we consider is the real state of the economy,” Singh, a former RBI governor who has been critical of Modi Government’s decision to invalidate old banknotes of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500, said
“Indian economy is not in good shape is now obvious. The IMF has projected that the growth rate of India this current fiscal year will not be 7.6 per cent but 6.6 per cent. Several other agencies have made similar projections,” Singh said.
Union Ministers Venkaiah Naidu, Piyush Goyal and Nirmala Sitharaman countered the Congress’s charges. Naidu said there was no need of certificate of these people. “Not surprised by criticism of Manmohan and Chidambaram, both are failed economists,” he asserted.
While Goyal claimed the economy had seen a vast improvement since the current Government assumed power from the previous Government under Singh, Sitharaman called the Congress’s press briefing a “damp squib”.
“Projects were stalled and distressed. Inflation was at 9.9 per cent. WPI average for three years was 7.4 per cent. CAD was at 3.6 deficit in an average of three years. Any analysis of facts and figures shows that the Modi government has done a historic job in turning around the situation,” Goyal said.