How would Ola, Uber cause truck sales to plummet: Yashwant Sinha
Indore, Sep 14: Former BJP leader Yashwant Sinha on Saturday questioned Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's claim that rise of Ola and Uber affected the automobile sector, asking why the sales of trucks should also decline.
Those in power were making "weird" statements, the former finance minister said, talking to reporters here.
"People in the government are making weird statements.
These statements will not lead to betterment of economy. But they will definitely affect the government's image," he said.
On Sitharaman's statement about decline in the automobile sector, where she spoke about people using app- based cab services instead of buying car as one of the causes, Sinha asked, "If companies like Ola and Uber caused a drop in passenger vehicle sales, then why there is a slowdown in sales of two-wheelers and trucks?"
"Bihar's finance minister (Sushil Modi) said there is recession due to Sawan-Bhado (the rainy season). A Union minister (Piyush Goyal) is talking about Einstein's law of gravity," the former BJP leader said.
Sinha also raised a question about Sitharaman's announcement to organize a mega-shopping festival in India on the lines of Dubai Shopping Festival to boost exports.
"The economies of UAE (United Arab Emirates) and India are different. India's economy will progress only when farmers in areas like Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh progress," he said.
"We should have grown at a rate of at least eight percent. But in the first quarter of the financial year, the GDP growth has come down to five percent," he said.
The missing three percent growth meant loss of Rs 6 lakh crore in just one quarter, he claimed.
Asked about the government's plan to merge certain public sector banks, he said, "I am not opposed to merger. But it will not reduce their non performing assets automatically."
The process may in fact harm the banks as their officials will get tied up in completing merger formalities instead of focusing on actual banking, Sinha said.
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RR beat RCB by six wickets in IPL
Guwahati (PTI): Blistering fifties by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Dhruv Jurel powered Rajasthan Royals to a six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their IPL match here on Friday.
Sent in to bat, RCB rode on a fighting half-century by skipper Rajat Patidar (63) to post 201 for 8.
Virat Kohli (32), Romario Shepherd (22) and Venkatesh Iyer (29) also chipped in with useful contributions.
In reply, Sooryavanshi (78 off 26 balls) and Dhruv Jurel (81 not out off 43 balls) shared a 37-ball 108-run partnership for the second wicket to set the platform. Krunal Pandya (2/30) tried to bring them back with back-to-back wickets.
But Jurel, in the company of Ravindra Jadeja (24), completed the task with another 68-run stand, with two overs to spare.
For RR, Jofra Archer (2/33), Ravi Bishnoi (2/32) and Brijesh Sharma (2/37) took two wickets.
Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 201 for 8 in 20 overs (Rajat Patidar 63; Jofra Archer 2/33, Ravi Bishnoi 2/32, Brijesh Sharma 2/37).
Rajasthan Royals: 202 for 4 in 18 overs (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 78, Dhruv Jurel 80 not out; Krunal Pandya 2/30, Josh Hazlewood 2/44).
