New Delhi: BJP leader Yashwant Sinha said the economic numbers would have been worse but for the seven per cent rise in personal, community and social services category, “reflecting irresponsible government spending, rather than real economic expansion”.
In a direct dig at finance minister P. Chidambaram, who has said he will not be contesting elections this time, Mr Sinha asked, “Is it a fact that the markets celebrated your announcement of not standing for elections; that on March 19, 2014, when you made this announcement, the Sensex shot up by 125 points, that the forex market was also delighted and the rupee has strengthened considerably against the dollar since then?”
On employment and job creation, quoting a survey by NSSO (National Sample Survey Organisation), Mr Sinha said over 60 million job opportunities were created in 1999-2005 (NDA) as opposed to 15 million jobs in 2004-12 (UPA).
“Is it a fact that consumer price inflation has averaged around 10 per cent per annum between 2008 and 2013,” Mr Sinha asked the FM, adding that “is it not the highest inflation rate in any major economy in the world and hasn’t high inflation pushed millions of Indians below poverty line?”
Mr Sinha alleged the UPA government had allowed the fiscal deficit to cross all limits of sustainability in 2008-09 through “unproductive and irresponsible” government spending.
Mr Sinha also attacked PM Manmohan Singh for saying “money does not grow on trees”. Countering the accusations, Mr Chidambaram said, “The rally in the stock market is due to the fact of a stable government, not because of some kind of fond hope”.
