Finance minister has lost control of economy: Congress

Jairam Ramesh said the FM is amply showing how not to manage the economy

With key economic figures faltering, the Congress party on Wednesday lambasted Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, saying he had “lost control of the economy.”

Congress spokesperson and Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh said, “The finance minister has amply showed us how not to manage the economy.” Citing the negative Index of Industrial Production (IIP) figures released on Tuesday, Ramesh said these were the lowest in four years.

The former Union minister said, “Exports have been falling consistently for the past 13 months. The consumer price index was at its highest in 15 months, and the exchange rate has fallen to 66 to the dollar. It has, in fact, fallen to a number that exceeds the ages of the prime minister and finance minister,” said Ramesh.  

Ramesh said the Natonal Democratic Alliance government’s faulty policies had aggravated rural distress, and rural demand continued to be weak.

The cumulative effect of all this, he added, was economic stagnation, low employment and a declining rupee. He said, “No Government in India in the past 35 years has got such a bonanza of declining oil prices.” The full benefits of this fall have not been passed on to consumers, he stated.