NDA Government Has Gone "Bankrupt", Says Congress Leader Manish Tewari

Congress leader Manish Tewari on Friday said the NDA government at the Centre had gone "bankrupt" due to a massive "accumulated fiscal deficit" of Rs 32 lakh crore for the fiscals 2019-20 and 2020-21.

He said the Narendra Modi government, which swept to power promising ''achhe din'', had ruined the country's economy and its seven-year rule had seen "the four economic fundamentals comprising investment, employment, savings and consumption falling completely flat".

"The UPA government, in its 10 years of rule, worked hard to reduce the fiscal deficit. However, the accumulative fiscal deficit in the NDA regime for 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 is Rs 32 lakh crore. This means the government has gone bankrupt. This government is on the verge of bankruptcy. The UPA government took 27 crore people put of poverty in 10 years, and the NDA in seven years forced 23 crore of these to sink back into poverty," he said.

Mr Tewari said the Union government, which had collected Rs 25 lakh crore as excise duty on petrol and diesel, was trying to run the government from this amount as it had failed to expand the economy.

"During the UPA government, the average price of crude oil was around Rs 100 per barrel while petrol used to sell at Rs 50. However, under NDA rule, the average price of crude oil has been Rs 50 per barrel but petrol is selling at Rs 100. Inflation has broken the back of citizens. This (economy in tatters) is not just due to COVID-19, but it started with demonetization and faulty implementation of GST," the Congress leader said.

He also attacked the Centre over the sedition law, the need of which has been questioned by the Supreme Court recently, by alleging that the Modi dispensation was labeling legitimate dissenters as "anti-national", "seditious" and even "downright traitor".

"The methodology of this government, from the prime minister downwards, is to shoot the messenger instead of listening to the message. The manner in which national security laws are being grossly misused to quell legitimate political dissent has now attracted the attention of our constitutional courts. The recent Delhi High Court decision regarding three activists (arrested in the Delhi riots case) and yesterday's questioning of the sedition law are the outcome of gross misuse of national security laws," Mr Tewari stated.

Speaking on Gujarat politics, Mr Tewari said his party had a fair chance in the 2022 Assembly polls here due to the COVID-19 outbreak and vaccination mismanagement carried out by the Centre and the state government.

He said the appointment of the state in charge, unit chief and leader of opposition here is the prerogative of the Congress chief.

While state in charge Rajiv Satav died of post COVID-19 complications, state Congress chief Amit Chavda and leader of opposition Paresh Dhanani had resigned from their posts after the party was drubbed in the local bodies polls held in February this year. 

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