BJP's 'mismanagement' of economy would destroy millions, says Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday (July 7) targeted the BJP government over handling of the economy, saying its “mismanagement” was a tragedy that would destroy millions of families but asserted this will no longer be “accepted silently”.

Gandhi accused the BJP government of “economic mismanagement” and targeted it for its policies.

“India’s economic mismanagement is a tragedy that is going to destroy millions of families. It will no longer be accepted silently,” he said on Twitter, using the hashtag “BJPsDistractAndRule”.

He tagged a report with his tweet that claimed that India’s economic growth is likely to contract 4.5 per cent in 2020-21 due to COVID-19.

He also cited a few media reports about rural households worse hit than urban ones and households losing incomes and extreme poverty expected to rise due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The data also warned that a 10 per cent contraction in global GDP would leave over 170 million people in “extreme poverty” and that India will make up “almost half the estimated additional poor regardless of contraction scenario”.

He had earlier sought an immediate cash transfer of ₹10,000 to the poor and an economic stimulus package for MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) which were hit hard by the lockdown.

The government had also launched an economic stimulus package worth ₹20 lakh crore to help revive the economy. However, the package has received severe criticism from the Opposition and economic experts, since it was said that the benefits that could be reaped from the package would barely amount to 20 per cent of the total amount.