‘Who is Pappu now?’ Mahua Moitra taunts Centre on economy, Himachal polls

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra cited government data showing industrial shrinkage to question the Centre’s handling of the economy in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. “Who is the Pappu now?” she questioned.

Moitra was participating in a debate in Lok Sabha on demands for additional grants for 2022-23. “This government and the ruling party coined the term ‘Pappu’. You use it to denigrate and signify extreme incompetence. But the statistics tell us who the actual Pappu is,” said the firebrand TMC leader.

NSO’s dismal figures

Moitra accused the Narendra Modi government of spreading “falsehood” about India’s growth and appealed to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to take control of the economy, which, according to the TMC leader, is going downhill.

Referring to the latest data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), Moitra claimed that while the country’s industrial output shrunk by 4% in October to a 26-month low, the manufacturing sector, which is “still the biggest generator of jobs,” contracted by 5.6%.

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“Seventeen of the industry sectors that make up the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) have recorded negative growth. Forex reserves have fallen by $72 billion in under a year,” she said.

The manufacturing sector’s output declined by 5.6% in October 2022 as against a growth of 3.3% recorded in the same month a year ago, according to the IIP data released by the NSO.

Himachal loss jibe

She also took a swipe at the BJP over its defeat in the just-concluded Himachal Pradesh assembly elections, saying the ruling party’s president could not hold on to his home state. “Who is the Pappu now?” she asked.

Himachal Pradesh is the home state of BJP national president JP Nadda and in the elections, the Congress wrested the state from his party.

Sitharaman on Monday mentioned during the Question Hour how 50% of Foreign Institutional Investors’ inflows into emerging markets are coming to India, but the government told the House in reply to a question last Friday that almost 2 lakh people had renounced their Indian citizenship in the first 10 months of 2022, Moitra said.

“This exodus of 2022 takes the total number of Indians renouncing Indian citizenship under this government in the past nine years since 2014 to over 12.5 lakh people,” she said.

“Is this sign of a healthy economic environment or a healthy tax environment (in the country)?” she asked, adding, “Who is the Pappu now?”

“Atmosphere of terror”

The TMC member alleged that there is an “atmosphere of terror” in the country with the “sword” of the Enforcement Directorate hanging over “businessmen and high-net-worth individuals” as well as leaders of opposition parties.

“The ruling party buys lawmakers for hundreds of crores of rupees and, yet, members of the Opposition represent 95% of the lawmakers under investigation by the Enforcement Directorate,” Moitra alleged.

She accused the government of spreading falsehood over India’s growth story under Prime Minister Modi and said demonetisation of high-value currency enforced by it in 2016 had failed to achieve its targets as cash is “still king” and phasing out of fake currency is still a distant dream.

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“This government has us believe every February that this country’s economy is going great guns; we are the fastest growing, most efficient global player; everyone is getting employment, cylinders, electricity, and pucca houses. This falsehood flies for eight to 10 months and the truth comes out limping after it,” the TMC leader said.

“We are now in December and the government says it needs another Rs 3.26 lakh crores as additional funds over and above the budget estimates,” she said.

BJP member defends Modi

Reacting to the TMC member’s “Pappu” remark, BJP member Jagdambika Pal made certain observations, which Rajendra Agarwal, who was in the Chair, said will not go on record.

Participating in the debate, Pal defended the government and said India under Prime Minister Modi is among the top five global economies. “If at all anyone can control inflation, it’s the Narendra Modi government,” he said.

He said India’s exports under the leadership of PM Modi are increasing day by day and the country is on its way to achieving its target of becoming a Rs 5-trillion economy. “We will come again in 2024 (after winning Lok Sabha elections) and talk about coming at the top of the world,” the BJP MP added.

Other issues raised by Opposition

NCP member Supriya Sule asked whether the government had a roadmap on how to improve the economic condition of the country. She said schemes such as Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana were not being implemented for lack of funds.

National Conference member Hasnain Masoodi said the economic condition of farmers was a matter of concern. One lakh workers are waiting for their wages. Apple, which is the spine of Kashmir, is also struggling. Saffron production has registered a 20% fall due to pollution, he said.

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RSP member NK Premachandran said the demand for excess grants to the tune of 10% of the amount of the total budget proposal reflected poor fiscal planning of the government. Premachandran wondered how the government would contain the fiscal deficit at 6.4% of the GDP as announced by Sitharaman in her Budget speech.

Congress member Mohammad Javed said India was importing 90% of its fertiliser requirements, and there was no move to make the country self-reliant in this sector. He said the fact that the government had to give free foodgrains to 81 crore people was evidence that the number of poor had increased in the country.

Congress member Thomas Chazhikadan voiced concerns of the rubber growers and demanded that the government fix a minimum support price of Rs 250 per kg for rubber.

Raising the issue of education of minorities, Samajwadi Party member ST Hasan said the government should restart the scholarships it has done away with, like the Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF).

(With agency inputs)