Economic Survey has no connection with reality: Congress

Congress spokesperson Rajeev Gowda claimed that the Economic Survey which was presented by the Finance Minister in Parliament on Friday was totally disconnected with the reality. The party also said that the country needs 38 per cent foreign investment against the current rate of 27 per cent to reach the target.

New Delhi:The Congress has come down heavily on the projections of the Economic Survey which was presented by the Finance Minister in Parliament on Friday, saying the findings of the survey are "totally disconnected with the reality".

"The Economic Survey comes nowhere close to revealing what the actual situation is. India is facing a very difficult time due to the Narendra Modi government's mismanagement yet if you look at the Economic Survey, you will find it is totally disconnected from this grim reality," Congress spokesperson Rajeev Gowda said.

"The Economic Survey is not about talking of the past but the current situation in the country. The current situation is - the economy is in the worst phase in 52 years with unemployment at an all-time high," Gowda stated.

"In this Economic Survey, the Chief Economic Advisor pays scant attention to distribution and inequality. Even today, inequality is worsening. Recent Oxfam report says richest 1 per cent of India hold over 40 per cent of national wealth," party leader Gaurav Vallabh said.

"After failure of Modinomics, a new word Thalinomics has been coined while the 'thali' of the common man is empty as the food inflation is at 14.12 per cent," said Vallabh.

The party said the prices of essential commodities are rising and the government has not said how it will contain the food inflation. The "Make in India" has failed so "Assemble in India" has come up but this will not add value to the GDP as already the position is grim, the Congress added.

Congress leader Supriya Shrinate said: "Talking of $5 trillion economy is only another talk. To reach there, India has to grow at 9 per cent but the current rate is 4.5 per cent. The next year's projection is 6 to 6.5 which is far from the reality and the data does not support this claim."

The party also said that the country needs 38 per cent foreign investment against the current rate of 27 per cent to reach the target.