'From Healthy Economy in 2004 to Stagnant Economy in 2014': Govt 'White Paper' Shreds UPA Rule

The 'white paper' tabled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on Thursday accuses the UPA of economic mismanagement and widespread corruption. It claims that in 2004, when the UPA government began its term, the economy was growing at 8 per cent... "but little was done by the UPA government to build upon the strong foundation laid by the previous NDA government."

New Delhi: Claiming that the BJP-led NDA government at the centre stabilized India’s economy and set it on a recovery and growth path, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday tabled a 'white paper' in the Parliament stating that the UPA Government inherited a 'healthy economy', ready for more reforms, but made it non-performing in its ten years from 2004-14.

“Now that we have stabilised the economy and set it on a recovery and growth path, it is necessary to place in the public domain the seemingly insurmountable challenges left behind as a legacy by the UPA Government. Every challenge of the pre-2014 era was overcome through our economic management and our governance. These have placed the country on a resolute path of sustained high growth. This has been possible through our right policies, true intentions, and appropriate decisions,” the 'white paper' tabled by Sitharaman in Lok Sabha stated.

It said that in 2004, when the UPA government began its term, the economy was growing at 8 per cent (with industry and services sector growth above 7 per cent each and a resuscitating agriculture sector growth above 9 per cent in FY04) amidst a benign world economic environment.

“Even as the country was standing at the cusp of emerging as a powerful economy, little was done by the UPA government to build upon the strong foundation laid by the previous NDA government,” read part one of the 'white paper' titled 'From a healthy economy in 2004 to a stagnant economy in 2014'.

It said that the UPA government, in its quest to maintain high economic growth by any means after the global financial crisis of 2008, "severely undermined" the macroeconomic foundations. “Under the UPA government, the economy had lost its way,” the paper said.

“One such foundation that was severely weakened by the UPA government was price stability. Inflation raged between 2009 and 2014 and the common man bore the brunt. Over the five-year period from FY10 to FY14, the average annual inflation rate was in double digits. Between FY04 and FY14, average annual inflation in the economy was 8.2 per cent,” the paper stated.

It further highlighted that the banking crisis was one of the most important and "infamous legacies" of the UPA government. Criticising the UPA government for 'mismanagement' of public finance, it said that the UPA Government's response to the 2008 Global Financial Crisis – a fiscal stimulus package to combat the spill-over effects - was "much worse than the problem it sought to address".

Stating that the UPA government’s decision-making came to a standstill due to "corruption and scandals" in defence, compromising defence preparedness, the 'white paper' claimed that the government delayed the acquisition of artillery and anti-aircraft guns, fighters, submarines, night fighting gear and a host of equipment upgrades.

Asserting that there was "pervasive corruption" in various government activities, including in procurement, allocation of natural resources, and regulatory approvals, the paper said that procurements vital for the nation's security were also not free from corruption. “The scams and corruption cases had shaken the confidence of the people,” it said.

In the 'white paper', Sitharaman also highlighted some of the major scams including coal block allocation, commonwealth games, 2G scam, Saradha chit fund, INX media case, Aircel-Maxis, Antrix-Devas deal, AgustaWestland helicopter scam among others.

“As soon as our government took over in 2014, we recognized the urgent need to revamp and overhaul systems and processes, to help India advance on the path of development while also bolstering its macroeconomic foundations,” part three of the 'white paper' which highlighted "rescue of the economy from a state of crisis, despair and paralysis" stated.

It said that several reforms adopted by her government resulted in the transition of India from the league of ‘Fragile Five’ to the league of ‘Top Five’ in just about a decade as the economy was transformed into a far more resilient avatar amidst a challenging global environment. Through the 'white paper', Sitharaman also reiterated that her government continues to undertake measures to unearth black money and to discourage recourse to it.

However, talking to ETV Bharat, former MP and CPM central committee member Hannan Mollah termed the white paper as a “whitewash paper.” “It’s election time. So, the BJP government has brought out this paper just to get political mileage by showing paper magic,” he said. Mollah further said that the BJP government at the centre is a government for the rich people. “They (BJP) give more attention to corporates like Adani, Ambani from whom they get funds during the election time. They talk about corruption, their own party men are involved in corruption,” alleged Mollah.

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