Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Wednesday criticised the BJP-led Centre, saying that 12 years of its rule have led to economic slowdown, rising debt, inflation, unemployment and falling investor confidence.
Cheema said in his statement that the BJP government promised to make India a “Vishwaguru”, but it is now trailing behind smaller economies on key economic indicators.
He claimed that Taiwan’s market capitalisation had now crossed India’s. He said a country with a population of about 2.5 crore had overtaken India, while India has slipped from the world’s 4th largest economy to 6th position.
Cheema said a much smaller country in terms of population and size had moved ahead, while the BJP government was avoiding accountability on economic issues. He said, “They wanted to make India a ‘Vishwaguru’, but today even a country smaller than Japan and with a population of about 2.5 crore has moved ahead of us.” He asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to explain how he plans to manage the economy.
The minister also questioned the Union Government over the recent decision related to the Reserve Bank of India’s risk buffer, saying it shows the government’s dependence on short-term measures to manage the budget.
Referring to reports that the RBI reduced its Contingent Risk Buffer from 7.5 per cent to 6.5 per cent before transferring a record dividend to the Centre, Cheema said such steps could weaken financial stability.
He said earlier that such large transfers should not come at the cost of the RBI’s risk-management capacity, which is important for financial stability.
Cheema said the government is trying to balance its budget through measures like higher fuel prices and inflation, while weakening the RBI’s financial strength.
He said the BJP government must explain why the RBI’s risk-management capacity was affected for budget purposes. He added that the BJP’s economic management reflects clear failure, and common people are suffering due to inflation, rising fuel prices and weak economic stability.
Cheema said the country needs transparent economic governance, stronger domestic demand, job creation, control over inflation and restored investor confidence instead of political distractions and headline management.
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