Chidambaram hits out at PM over his remarks in Bangkok
New Delhi: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Tuesday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remarks in Bangkok, saying that he should have also talked about the falling investment, growth, credit and business confidence in India.
Chidambaram, who is currently lodged in Tihar jail for alleged corruption in the INX Media case, said the prime minister should have said that unemployment has also risen and there are signs that new loans are turning into bad loans.
"At Bangkok, the PM spoke about things that are rising and things that are falling in India. The list was incomplete.
"He should have added that investment is falling; core sector growth is falling; credit to industry is falling; consumer demand is falling; and business confidence is falling," he said on Twitter.
Chidambaram, who asked his family to tweet on his behalf, said, "He should have also said that unemployment has risen to 8.5 per cent and there are signs that new loans given in the last three years are turning into bad loans."
The prime minister had told a group of influential business leaders in Bangkok on Sunday it was the best time to be in India and that many things such as foreign direct investment, ease of doing business, ease of living and productivity are rising while tax rates, red tapism, corruption, cronyism are on a decline.
The former Union minister has been critical of the Modi government's handling of the economy and has said this is the reason that he is being targeted.
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India-bound LPG tanker clears Hormuz
New Delhi (PTI): A tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for India has sailed out of the Strait of Hormuz and is now headed towards the country, an official statement said on Sunday.
The Marshall Islands-flagged LPG carrier MT Sarv Shakti, loaded with 46,313 tonnes of LPG and staffed by 20 crew, including 18 Indians, cleared the key shipping chokepoint on May 2 and is expected to reach Visakhapatnam on May 13, it said.
The cargo -- enough to meet half a days requirement of the country -- will partly tide over supply constraints being faced since the start of the West Asia conflict more than two months back.
Ship-tracking data showed its position in Oman Gulf on Sunday evening.
The very large gas carrier has previously made runs between the Persian Gulf and Indian ports, has been chartered by state-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).
Sarv Shakti is the first India-linked tanker to cross the war zone since a weeks-old US blockade of ships tied to Iran began, pushing transits through Hormuz back down to almost zero.
There are as many as 14 Indian flagged or India-owned vessels still stranded on the west side of the Strait of Hormuz.
The statement said no incident involving Indian-flagged vessels has been reported in the past 24 hours. The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways is working closely with the Ministry of External Affairs, Indian missions and maritime stakeholders to ensure crew welfare and uninterrupted operations.
The Directorate General of Shipping (DG Shipping) control room has handled 8,373 calls and more than 17,965 emails since activation, including 38 calls and 127 emails in the last 24 hours.
India has also facilitated the repatriation of more than 2,953 seafarers so far, including 31 in the past day from across the Gulf region.
Port operations across the country remain normal with no congestion reported, the statement added.
