Cong leaders hit out govt as Q1 GDP growth falls to 5%

Congress leaders hit out at the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government over the growth rate of 5 per cent in April to June quarter.

In a tweet on Saturday, Congress leader Manish Tewari said that the government has used investigative agencies -- Income Tax Department (IT), Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) over the past five years and caused systematic destruction of the economic environment by the brutal and indiscriminate use of these agencies.

"GDP growth is not 5% it is 3%. There is a statistical bump of 2% due to change of base year from 2004- 2005 to 2011-12. ELEPHANT in room is-GOVT CREATED TERROR- The systematic destruction of the economic environment by the brutal & indiscriminate use of IT, ED, CBI over past 5 yrs," he said.

Another senior Congress leader Pramod Tiwari said, "Modi government has failed on the economy. We were fearing and have been saying that the government was going in the wrong direction. The first-quarter GDP is 5 per cent which is lowest for six years.

"Not only this, the merger of banks suggest that banks are not able to run by their own. So overall the economic situation is under crisis and everybody is worried except the Modi government," Tiwari said.

National Spokesperson of Congress, Meem Afzal said that all raids are done on opposition leaders and not on BJP and its sympathizers. The government is diverting the attention from the real issues of the country which is that an economic crisis has set in.

Yesterday, Congress leader RPN Singh said, "We have been saying that the most problematic thing in the country is economy. This government has no idea what is happening in the economy."

"It is the most distressing news that growth rate is fallen to 5%. Thousands of people are losing jobs," he added.

"There is a need to implement an economic emergency in the country as we are sliding down so fast," he added.

Yesterday, Congress said that the latest GDP figures which show growth rate at 5 per cent were "dismal and disappointing" and accused the government of indulging in "headline management" instead of addressing the structural issues ailing the economy.

The economic growth slowed to a seven-year low to 5 per cent in April to June quarter from 8 per cent a year ago, government data showed on Friday.

The slowdown was largely due to a sharp dip in the manufacturing sector and agriculture output, said the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation in a statement.

The previous low was recorded at 4.9 per cent in April to June 2012-13. Consumer demand and private investment have weakened amid global trade frictions and dampening business sentiment.