Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has ripped into the Centre’s Narendra Modi government after the latest GDP data showed that the economic growth for the second quarter of the ongoing financial year had come down to 4.5%, lowest for more than six years.
FILE PHOTO/PTISingh said, “There is no one today that can deny the sharp slowdown in India’s economy and its disastrous consequences, particularly for our farmers, youth and the poor. The GDP figures released earlier today point that the growth rate of our economy in the second quarter of the current fiscal year is as low as 4.5%. This is clearly unacceptable and the aspirations of our people want that this country should grow at 8-9% per annum and therefore the sharp decline in growth rate from 5% in the first quarter to 4.5% in the second quarter is indeed worrisome.
“It is my belief that mere changes in economic policy will not help revive the economy. We need to change the current climate in our society from one of fear to one of confidence for our economy to start growing robustly again at 8% per annum.”
There is no one today that can deny the sharp slowdown in India’s economy & its disastrous consequences particularly for our farmers, youth & poor. The GDP figures released today point that the growth rate of our economy in Q2FY20 is as at 4.5%: Former PM Dr Singh #GDPkeBureDin pic.twitter.com/9sIKxfJ9gx
— Congress (@INCIndia) November 29, 2019
Official data showed that India’s economic growth had slipped further to hit an over six-year low of 4.5 percent in July-September 2019. The previous low was recorded at 4.3 percent in the January-March period of 2012-13.
China’s economic growth was 6 percent in July-September 2019 despite the quarter being the weakest expansion in over 27 years.
Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram wrote on Twitter, “I have asked my family to tweet the following: As predicted widely, GDP growth in Q2 has come lower at 4.5%. Yet the Government says “All is well”. Q3 will not be more than 4.5% and in all likelihood will be worse.”
Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel tweeted, “4.5% ! Some ppl who made a career by mocking Dr Manmohan Singh ji are now struggling to oversee the economy.” His subsequent tweet read, “Fact is, ppl who run this government don’t care if economic growth falls to 4.5% or 0.5%. They are least interested in these things, they have only one agenda – silence contrarian voices & the opposition.”