Arun Jaitley hits back at Yashwant Sinha, dubs him a job applicant at 80
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After Yashwant Sinha's scathing article. Arun Jaitley, Union Finance Minister, today responded to questions raised on the state of Indian economy.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has responded to questions raised on the state of Indian economy. FM Jaitley on Thursday had said that some people are trying to change the narrative when India is at 70 and he doesn't have the "luxury of being a former Finance Minister which has become a columnist." Jaitley said the Modi government has shattered policy paralysis and taken several bold steps, that previous governments would have never taken.
In a scathing article published in The Indian Express on Wednesday, BJP leader and former Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha had blamed Jaitley for pushing economy towards a "mess". Sinha's critique came days after another BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy had raised similar concerns on the state of economy in an interview to CNN-News18. Opinions against the handling of economy by Narendra Modi government have turned into a big controversy. Opposition leaders like Rahul Gandhi and former FM P Chidambaram have also taken swipes at the Centre.
In his article, Sinha had said, the GDP growth rate of 5.7% could be actually 3.7% or less. Commenting on this, Chidambaram tweeted:"Yashwant Sinha speaks Truth to Power. Will Power now admit the Truth that economy is sinking? TRUTH 1: "The growth rate of 5.7% is actually 3.7% or less" says Yashwant Sinha. TRUTH 2: "Instilling fear in the minds of the people is the name of the new game" says Yashwant Sinha. ETERNAL TRUTH: No matter what Power does, ultimately Truth will prevail." Rahul Gandhi tweeted, "Ladies & Gentlemen, this is your copilot & FM speaking. Plz fasten your seat belts & take brace position.The wings have fallen off our plane."
At a book release function today, Jaitley refrained from taking Sinha's name but said he does not have the luxury as yet of being a former finance minister nor does he have the luxury of being a former finance minister who has turned a columnist. The FM hit back really hard at his critic. "Acting in tandem itself won't change the facts," he said as he took a jibe at Sinha for seeking a job by making those comments. "Probably, a more appropriate title for the book would have been 'India @70, Modi @3.5 and a job applicant @ 80," Jaitley said.
(This Report was published in Financial Express on 29th September 2017)