Jaitley lauds CM Shivraj for growth and development in MP

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday tore into the Congress for not doing enough for the development of Madhya Pradesh while the party was in power for 10 years.

Addressing the media in Bhopal, the 65-year-old minister said, "Before 2003, there was a scarcity of basic things like water, electricity etc. Not only that, the discussions were also held on elementary subjects, not keeping pace with the development around the country." Jaitley was speaking at the event to mark Bhartiya Janata Party's (BJP) manifesto launch for upcoming state elections.

The Minister stated that after Shivraj Singh Chouhan was voted to power in 2003, the government not only provided basic facilities to poor and farmers, but also made efforts to uplift them.

Jaitley also elaborated upon the aspect of economic growth in Madhya Pradesh and stated, "After Congress got defeated in 2003, it left a budget of only Rs 21,000 crore but today it has increased 10 folds under BJP regime. Every year, the economic growth rate of this state increases by approximately 2 per cent to 2.5 per cent, which is higher than the overall growth rate of India. The major credit goes to farmers as they are able to produce 20 per cent more by using modern and efficient irrigation systems. Till 2003, nobody would have imagined that Madhya Pradesh can also show tremendous development under BJP within a span of just 15 years."

The Union Finance Minister also touched upon the subject of sanitation and stated that under Shivraj Singh Chouhan's government, Madhya Pradesh which was once known as a BIMARU state and held responsible for the country backwards on social indicators, is now topping the list of India's cleanest cities.

"In Swachh Bharat survey 2018, both Indore and Bhopal have emerged as the cleanest cities across India. The fact that Madhya Pradesh, which was once a BIMARU state, has come this far is commendable. This became possible only because the people residing in the state decided to erode the legacy of Congress party and voted BJP to power," he said.

The acronym "BIMARU" was coined in the 1980s to refer to the economic condition of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

The Finance Minister also claimed that in accordance with the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2003 (FRBMA), Madhya Pradesh, under Shivraj Singh Chouhan, always remained fiscally disciplined.

"Under FRBMA, Madhya Pradesh, under BJP never, had the fiscal deficit of more than 3 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). While Congress was in power the fiscal deficit was 6 per cent, Shivraj ji made efforts to bring it down to less than 3 per cent," he added.

In his concluding remarks, Jaitley expressed optimism and said that India will become the world's fastest growing economy in the not so distant future as the country has improved its rank in World Bank 'Ease of Doing Business' index.

"While Congress was in power, India was at 142th position in the Ease of Doing Business Index. But after Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, the country first catapulted 65 positions in the 2017 edition of the ranking and this year it jumped 30 positions. Now, the target of making India to the top 50 ranks in 2019 does not seems difficult."

These statements from Union Minister Arun Jaitley come ahead of assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh. The election for 230 constituencies is scheduled on 28 November and the counting of votes will be done on 11 December.

In their manifesto for the polls, the BJP has promised higher transparency, better governance, improved women safety and empowerment, better education facilities, infrastructure development, higher income and better facilities to farmers, modernised health facilities and financial support to poor students, farmers and women.