Modi has delivered blows to the economy: Congress
New Delhi, Oct 14: The Congress Sunday launched a scathing attack on the Centre over the falling rupee and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "monumental mismanagement" of the economy and delivering blows to it.
The opposition party said in 2014, Modi had promised to strengthen the rupee if he became prime minister and said he would bring it to the level of 40 per dollar.
Addressing a press conference at the party office here, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma pointed out that the rupee had, on more than one occasion, crossed 74 to a dollar, whereas the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had left it at 59 to a dollar.
"There has been a monumental mismanagement of the Indian economy under the BJP-led NDA government. They have been busy, the prime minister in particular and his Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, either making false claims, or embellishing and manufacturing numbers just to mislead the people," he said.
A nation could not have a sound economy if it was not attracting investments, the Congress leader said.
On demonetisation, Sharma said Modi's arbitrary and reckless decision wiped off more than 90 per cent of the currency in circulation in one stroke, destroyed not only factories but crores of jobs and soon after that, there was a hasty imposition of a flawed Goods and Services Tax (GST).
"If you put all that together, you will realise that this is the highest GST and the most complex one when it comes to compliance, which has been thrust on the country. So, these are the blows Modi has delivered," he said.
The Congress leader took a dig at the finance minister by describing him as a blog writer rather than being an efficient minister and said the Centre attributed the slowing down of the economy, the falling rupee and all such things to global factors.
But strangely, these factors were only evident in India and not other economies of Asia which were not affected by those, he said.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
