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‘Structural problems’ in Centre's way of handling economy: Rahul Gandhi
The Congress leader was referring to the rise in prices of fuel while addressing a press conference.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said the Centre won’t be able to pull the nation out of the ‘economic crisis’ as there are structural problems with how it is handling the ‘economy’. The Congress leader was referring to the rise in prices of fuel while addressing a press conference.
Govt to monetise under-utilised public sector assets
“The problem is not cyclical, it is structural. The economic crisis that we faced in 1991 has resurfaced. The solutions that we brought worked till 2012 and I believe that without a new approach we will not be able to come out of this crisis. We need a new approach. Our plan for the economy, which worked from 1991 to 2012, stopped working after that,” he said.
“We have to change our vision. Our strategy stopped working after 2012 and we wanted a new approach. PM Modi promised that he would bring a new approach for ‘New India’. Those were empty promises,” Rahul further added.
Rahul Gandhi also criticised the National Monetisation Pipeline and took a dig at the ‘Make in India’ initiative. He said the Congress knows what the approach should be. He claimed that PM Modi and finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman don’t know how to address these ‘structural’ issues.
‘People are angry’
The Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad also said that people are angry and the Congress understands the pulse of the nation from the rising prices of fuel and LPG. He said that the Congress workers have been restraining themselves from taking to the street to protest against the rising fuel prices, owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The anger against the government is building but voices are being suppressed. Covid-19 pandemic has not ended, hence we also do not want lakhs of people to take to the streets because this can lead to other issues. We are exercising restraint,” Rahul Gandhi said.
He said that there will be a strong reaction as the anger against the rising fuel price will continue to mount.
‘Demonetisation of the common people’
During Rahul Gandhi’s press conference, which lasted a little bit over 30 minutes, he mocked the National Monetisation Pipeline and said that farmers, labourers and the unemployed were being demonetised. “Farmers, labourers, unemployed youth, middle class and medium and small enterprises are being demonetised. Only 4-5 friends of PM Modi are being monetised,” he said.
Rahul Gandhi said the government was selling off ‘India’s assets’ to the private sector. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) reacted to the statement to say that the Congress leader does not have any idea regarding GDP. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said that the GDP numbers for Q1 show that the economy has ‘bounced back under the leadership of PM Modi’, news agency ANI reported.
