Senior Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambarm on Tuesday taking a swipe at BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s remarks that the GDP has no relevance, said, “God save India’s economy.”
While defending the low GDP of 4.5 per cent in the July-September period when participating in a discussion in Lok Sabha on the Taxation Law Amendment Bill and a statutory resolution disapproving the ordinance on the same legislation, Dubey had said that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has no relevance and it should not be treated as ‘Bible, Ramayan and Mahabharat’ or the “ultimate truth”. His bizarre statement further said that this economic indicator had not existed before 1934 and will be irrelevant soon.
Chidambaram taking a dig at the current state of economy under the BJP government, as well as Dubey’s contention, in his tweet said, “GDP numbers are irrelevant, personal tax will be cut, import duties will be increased. These are BJP’s ideas of reforms. God save India’s economy.”
GDP numbers are irrelevant, personal tax will be cut, import duties will be increased.
These are BJP’s ideas of reforms.
God save India’s economy.
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) December 3, 2019
Congress leader Randeep Surjewala too had taken a dig at Dubey over his remarks, saying God save the people from “New India’s novice economists”.
On earlier occasions as well Chidambaram had tweeted on the state of Indian economy showing his disapproval of the current situation. He tweeted, “As predicted widely, GDP growth in Q2 has come lower at 4.5%. Yet the Government says “All is well”. Q3 will not be more than 4.5% and in all likelihood will be worse.”
I have asked my family to tweet the following:
As predicted widely, GDP growth in Q2 has come lower at 4.5%. Yet the Government says “All is well”.
Q3 will not be more than 4.5% and in all likelihood will be worse.
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) November 30, 2019
Though in jail, in the INX Media money laundering case, he remains active on Twitter, with his family tweeting on his behalf. On the Maharashtra government formation too he tweeted and called it an “egregious violation of the Constitution” when BJP formed a government with the help of NCP’s Ajit Pawar and later Devendra Fadnavis quit within 80 hours.
In an earlier tweet he said, “The government is clueless about the economy. It is fiddling while growth slumps, unemployment increases, consumption is reduced and the poor are driven to misery.”
The government is clueless about the economy. It is fiddling while growth slumps, unemployment increases, consumption is reduced and the poor are driven to misery.
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) November 27, 2019