Ravi Shankar Prasad cites success of three films to deny economic slowdown
Mumbai, Oct 12: Indications of slowdown notwithstanding, Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Saturday said three Bollywood movies generating business of Rs 120 crore on the October 2 holiday suggested the "sound economy" even as he dubbed "wrong" the NSSO report which had reportedly pegged unemployment rate at 45-year high in 2017.
Days after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the economic slowdown is more pronounced this year in India and Brazil, Prasad said the measurement was incomplete.
He alleged that some people organised against the government are misleading people over unemployment scenario.
"I was also told that on October 2, which is observed as one of the national holidays, three Hindi movies garnered Rs 120 crore business on that day. Unless the economy is sound in the country how can only three movies collected so much business in a single day?" Prasad asked while speaking to reporters.
He was in Mumbai to campaign for the BJP for the October 21 Maharashtra assembly polls.
The National Sample Survey Office's (NSSO's) periodic labour force survey (PLFS) had stated that unemployment was 45-year low. It had stated that the rate was this high in 1972-73 and 2.2 per cent in 2011-12.
The report had generated a lot of political heat, with the then Congress president Rahul Gandhi saying the Modi government had promised two crore jobs, but five years later a "leaked job creation report card" has revealed a "national disaster".
Earlier, Niti Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar had countered the report saying, "It is not finalised. It is a draft report."
Prasad, who holds Law and Justice, Communications and Electronics and Information Technology portfolios, said, "I have given you ten parameters where economy is performing well, but not a single one is reflected in the (NSSO) report.
Hence I call it a wrong report."
Singling out India and Brazil, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva recently said that 90 per cent of the world is likely to have slower growth in 2019.
When asked to comment on Georgieva's statement, Prasad said, "The measurement of IMF about India is still incomplete.
And do not forget, India was on the 11th position when Manmohan Singh was in power; today it is the fifth largest. We have surpassed even France."
Prasad also sought to dispel the perception that the economy is on the decline, saying, "Electronic manufacturing, Information and Technology sector, Mudra loan, commerce services are performing very well. We never said that we will give government jobs to everyone."
"There are some people who have organised against the government and misleading people over unemployment," he added.
Interestingly, Prasad's comments came at a time when India slipped down by ten positions in the world competitive index report and the government data on Friday revealing that factory output has shrunk by 1.1 per cent in August, which is the poorest performance in seven years due to a sharp decline in production of capital goods and consumer durables.
Commenting on the world competitive index report, the senior BJP leader said, "Look at innovation, start-ups and market size parameters, we are improving. It is true that we have dropped on some other parameters."
India, which was ranked 58th in the annual Global Competitiveness Index compiled by Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF), is among the worst-performing BRICS nations along with Brazil (ranked even lower than India at 71st this year), as per the report.
The Opposition camp has been alleging that the Narendra Modi dispensation has "miserably failed" on the economic front, leading to "growing joblessness".
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Kerala polls: Vijayan, Revanth Reddy trade barbs as campaigning ends
Kannur (Kerala)/Hyderabad (PTI): A war of words between Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his Telangana counterpart Revanth Reddy turned acrimonious on Tuesday, the final day of campaigning for the April 9 Assembly polls.
The two leaders sparred on the virtual world as well, exchanging letters on their respective social media handles.
The escalation came after Vijayan, responding to Reddy's earlier remarks, used Malayalam expressions considered nearly derogatory, signalling strong disapproval of the Telangana CM's comments.
Reddy, campaigning for the UDF in Kollam district, hit back swiftly, likening Vijayan to PM Narendra Modi.
He said he would take any personal remarks from the senior leader as a "blessing" considering his age, but objected to what he described as insults directed at the people of Kerala. "But you cannot abuse our Kerala people," he said, hours before campaigning drew to a close.
The controversy began after Reddy had said "nee po mone Vijaya" by invoking a famous dialogue from superstar Mohanlal's blockbuster movie "Narasimham" while referring to Vijayan on April 1 during a UDF campaign roadshow in Nemom constituency.
Earlier in the day, while reacting to Reddy's earlier remarks, Vijayan said a CM must maintain basic standards of conduct and questioned whether such dignity was being followed.
In his response to a query, Vijayan used Malayalam words that were seen as nearly derogatory for Reddy, signalling his strong disapproval of the remarks made against him.
Sharply reacting to the CM's objectionable remarks, Congress leader V D Satheesan said Vijayan appeared to have "completely lost composure" and warned that any further deterioration in his conduct would have brought "greater embarrassment" to the state.
After the critical remarks during the press meet, Vijayan wrote on his 'X' handle that political differences are natural, but expressing strong disagreement through personally insulting remarks is an attitude that he rejects. Reddy's statements lacked factual backing.
In a detailed letter attached with the 'X' post addressing the Telangana CM, Vijayan said the experience of the people of Kerala was "vastly different" from what Reddy had portrayed.
He clarified that he did not intend to engage in a debate over the performance of the Telangana government, stating that it was for the people of Telangana and political parties there to assess their government.
Referring to Reddy's comments, Vijayan said the LDF government has been consistently publishing progress reports over the past 10 years on the implementation of its election promises, underlining its commitment to continuous accountability.
He also rejected the allegation of "selective appropriation" of Kerala's achievements, including its top ranking in the NITI Aayog SDG Index, and said such criticism was misplaced.
Dismissing claims of industrial stagnation, Vijayan said Kerala has made significant strides in the startup ecosystem and ease of doing business, adding that these achievements have been widely acknowledged.
He also alleged that key infrastructure projects in Kerala, including the Kochi Metro and Vizhinjam Port, faced delays under previous Congress-led governments at the Centre, while long-pending promises such as a railway coach factory remained unfulfilled.
Vijayan further accused the BJP-led Union government of discrimination against Kerala and said the state has been actively resisting what he described as "anti-federal and undemocratic" policies through legal and political means, including approaching the Supreme Court.
He also rejected Reddy's criticism that the LDF was not vocal enough against the BJP, asserting that Kerala has been at the forefront of defending constitutional values.
Concluding his letter, Vijayan reiterated the state government's commitment to building a "Nava Keralam" and moving forward as a model for others.
On April 1, while addressing party workers in Nemom, Reddy used the popular Malayalam film dialogue "Nee po mone Vijaya". He adapted it to target Vijayan, saying "Nee po mone Vijaya".
Reddy went further, claiming that Vijayan's "time is over" and that his "expiry date has passed".
Responding to these allegations, Vijayan had said that the Telangana CM was "misinformed" and accused him of "ridiculing" Kerala and its people while trying to hide the weaknesses of his own state.
In a later response, Reddy defended his remarks and said that many of the statistics cited by Vijayan were taken from the NITI Aayog SDG Index 2023 24, arguing that the data was already outdated.
Reddy in his letter questioned the veteran Marxist leader's claim that Kerala would become the first state to completely eradicate extreme poverty by late 2025 had been achieved. Further, he chooses to conduct himself respectfully and gracefully in his criticism of the Kerala government's performance, whereas Vijayan opted to use language of poor taste.
Reddy, in his letter on X, said that while he respects NITI Aayog's corruption rankings, he wants to know why the infamous gold smuggling case, linked to individuals connected to the CMO, remains unresolved, and why 4.5 kg of gold allegedly misappropriated from the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple has not been accounted for.
