'Govt not providing supportive environment for growth'

Criticising the BJP government for not providing a "very supportive" environment for India's growth, former finance minister P Chidambaram said demonetisation and the GST have caused a severe setback to the economy which is now becoming visible.

Delivering a public lecture on 'An Emerging Power Engages the World: India and Australia', at the Australia India Institute in Melbourne on Tuesday, Chidambaram said "the current environment, unlike 1991 or 2004, is not very supportive to implement major reforms."

"There are too many distractions, and there has been a few major disruptions," he said. He alleged that the RSS and BJP have been responsible for the numerous distractions, some of which, he said, are also infractions of the law. 

"By questionable actions, and words, or ominous silence, they ignited debates on inter-faith marriages, sale and consumption of beef, cultural norms, dress codes, primacy of Hindi language, nationalism, raising slogans in praise of motherland, uniform civil code and special status of Jammu and Kashmir."