Yechury attacks govt on slowdown in economy

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Monday slammed the government over the slowdown in economy and said that this was not just "mismanagement" but "destruction of lives".

Reacting to reports that the government's tax collection is likely to fall short of its estimate by Rs 2.5 lakh crore or 1.2 per cent of GDP in 2019-20, Yechury said that the Centre will be made accountable.

"This is not mere mismanagement of the economy. It is the destruction of lives and livelihoods of millions of Indians, while Modi's rich cronies continue to benefit and fund the BJP. The people on the streets have taken note, accountability will be fixed," he tweeted.

Quoting an Oxfam study which said that India's richest one per cent hold more than four-times the wealth held by 953 million people who make up for the bottom 70 per cent of the country's population, while the total wealth of all Indian billionaires is more than the full-year budget, Yechury said that this is the reason Prime Minister Narendra Modi doesn't want people to know who funds the BJP.

"The whole electoral bond scheme is opaque and points to a collusion between the BJP and those who have become richer as a majority of Indians become poorer," he claimed.