Economic survey a 'huge wishlist': BJP

On the eve of the Budget presentation, BJP on Sunday criticised the Economic Survey as a "huge wishlist" and accused the government of putting the blame for all economic problems in the country on external factors.

On the eve of the Budget presentation, BJP on Sunday criticised the Economic Survey as a "huge wishlist" and accused the government of putting the blame for all economic problems in the country on external factors.

HT Image

"The Economic Survey wants us to believe that the economic woes facing the country today with growth slackening, inflation mounting and burgeoning fiscal deficit are all due to external factors such as capital flows, price volatility and the financial meltdown," senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said in a statement in New Delhi on Sunday.

"Its the typical penchant of Congress regimes to blame the foreign hand," she added.

Describing the survey as a "huge wishlist", Swaraj said it was silent on "five years of reform hibernation" which had taken a toll on the growth momentum of the Indian economy.

The Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha alleged the government only seemed to be making tall claims which would never see the light of day.

The BJP alleged that the government admits a fiscal deficit of 6.2 per cent while it has soared to double digits and was hovering around 16 per cent.

"The figures of fiscal deficit does not include the substantial and significant liabilities on account of oil, food and fertiliser bonds citing them as non-cash transactions," Swaraj said.