Note ban slowed down economy, took away jobs: Manmohan Singh at CWC meet

Demonetisation took away jobs, says former prime minister; Sonia says govt policies a disaster

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh slammed the Centre’s November decision to ban Rs 500 and Rs  1,000 notes, saying the move had slowed the economy, resulting in job losses.

Earlier, he’d predicted the move would bring the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth down by two percentage points. 

Speaking during a Congress Working Committee meeting, Singh noted gross value added (GVA), a sub-measure of economic activity, had seen a steep fall, citing GDP numbers for the fourth quarter and full year of 2016-17, released a few days earlier by the Central Statistics Office.

He said private sector investment had collapsed and the economy was running only on the engine of public spending. He said GVA growth had fallen from 10.7 per cent in March 2016 to 3.8 per cent in March 2017.

Most worrisome, he said, was the effect on job creation for youth. He pointed to the impact on the construction sector.

Earlier at the meeting, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi attacked the Centre, saying demonetisation was being touted as a great success but the government was yet to disclose how much of the banned currency in circulation was eventually returned to the banks. The real numbers showed the scheme was a disaster, she said. 
 

She said the ambitious Make in India programme had also failed to create jobs or attract investment. Unemployment was rampant and farmers in distress were committing suicide.

Accusing the Centre of shifting the goalposts, she said the manifesto promises of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party for 2019 were being shifted to 2022.
 

She also slammed the government on freedom of speech, accusing it of systematic attempts to blunt the tools of accountability, undermine the judiciary and suppress dissent. Those  close to the establishment had seen a dramatic increase in wealth and influence in the past three years.

On Jammu and Kashmir, Gandhi said the Centre’s policies were systematically alienating the people there, especially youth.

Women, Dalits, tribals, minorities and other oppressed sections were  facing perilous times, she charged, and the government was using state power to stifle voices that expressed different ideas or policies.

Manmohan Singh says

* Private sector investment has collapsed and the economy is running only on the engine of public spending

* GVA growth has fallen from 10.7 per cent in March 2016 to 3.8 per cent in March 2017

* Most worrisome is the effect on job creation for youth. The construction sector has also been hit

Sonia Gandhi says

* The government is yet to disclose how much of the banned currency in circulation has eventually returned to banks

* The ambitious Make in India programme has also failed to create jobs or attract investment

* Centre is shifting goalposts. The manifesto promises of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party for 2019 are being shifted to 2022