'Experienced' Yashwant Sinha didn't measure economy effectively this time: Naqvi

Union Minister of Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Saturday said former finance minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Yashwant Sinha didn't measure the Indian economy effectively this time despite having years of experience on the subject.

"After the implementation of Goods and Service Tax (GST), prices of basic needs have gone down. Yashwant Sinha is experienced, but he didn't measure economy effectively this time. There is a conflict between old and new India. India is in a positive state," Naqvi said in an interview with Jagdish Chandra, CEO of ZEE Media regional channels and ZEE Hindustan during the latest episode of 'A Dialogue with J'.

Naqvi also criticized former prime minister Manmohan Singh by saying that he had changed India's economy from liberal into 'mortgage'.

Naqvi was responding to Sinha's charge that the introduction of demonetisation and the GST between November 2016 and July 2017 was ill-timed.

Criticizing the Centre again, Sinha described the implementation of the GST from July 1 as the second major blow to the Indian economy after demonetisation.

Naqvi ended his interview by affirming that the BJP was in a good political space to make governments in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.

Assembly elections in Gujarat will be held towards the end of 2017 or January, 2018. The dates will be announced officially by the Election Commission soon.