Ahmedabad (Guj): Former Union finance minister Yashwant Sinha on Tuesday said the country has been "misled" through "fake and bogus economic data" and attacked the Centre over weakening of Rupee against the US dollar.
He also contested the Centre's claim on the growth of the economy under the BJP rule.
The former BJP leader said investors have withdrawn lakhs of crores of rupees (from markets), which is a matter of concern. "When rupee fell in 2013, current prime minister (Narendra Modi) said aloud that the rupee has gone into ICU. Today, they are not saying a word when the rupee is going to touch 75 (against the US dollar)," Sinha said.
He was addressing a gathering of the Gujarat chapter of Rashtra Manch, a political action group. BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha, Samajwadi Party spokesperson Ghanshyam Tiwari and former Gujarat chief minister Suresh Mehta also spoke on the occasion.
"They (the government) are giving fake (economic) data and the country is being misled on the basis of bogus data. Because, if the country is growing at the rate of 8 per cent, as per government's claim, then why is rupee so weak?" Sinha asked.
Blaming the Centre's claim on the GDP growth, the former BJP leader said the economic data is being played upon. "There is a new trend of 'shoot the messenger'," he said while attacking the NDA government over its economic policies.
Sinha said a household survey that used to be conducted by the Labour Bureau (LB) of the Union labour ministry in the past has now been shifted to the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), because the LB data on job creation "was not in favour of the government". "Economic experts say the EPFO data cannot be the data of employment. But Modiji says he knows everything," he said.
Sinha said the Central data which shows GDP growing exponentially is "not aligned with other data". "This is the reason our figures and data are not right," he added. "The kind of complete mismanagement of the economy we are seeing in the last four years had never been seen before. There were problems, but for the first time the government has to face a crisis regarding crude oil prices," he said, while slamming the government on rising prices of petrol and diesel.
Sinha also attacked the government over Rafale fighter jet deal and foreign policy.
SP leader Tiwari said Modi government was trying to build a "consensus on the basis of lies". "The government that takes pride in the art of lying should be thrown out and it is people's responsibility to do so," he said.
Tiwari said, "the government is standing against the values of "'Ahimsa', 'Satyagrah' and 'Swaraj' (non-violence, political resistance and self-rule) and is cheating its people".
Shatrughan Sinha said the government should bring petrol and diesel under the ambit of GST. "All we want is betterment of the country and our society. People should get better education and healthcare, but today the health and education system has not been working," he said.
Suresh Mehta said PM Modi created a "culture of telling lies" when he was chief minister of Gujarat between 2002 and 2014. "Modi is the most luxurious leader who flies in chartered planes and wears a golden suit," Mehta said. He claimed that the Gujarat government has "diverted Rs 3,500 crore from the fund of the Narmada (dam) project for the Statue of Unity project (which envisages construction of the statue of Vallabhbhai Patel)".
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