Yechury attacks govt on slowdown in economy

Communist Party leader, Sitaram Yechury, came down heavily on the BJP govt in the Centre for the current economic slowdown in the country. He accused the BJP of colluding with the rich which, according to an Oxfam study, hold more than four-times the wealth held by the 70 percent poorest.

New Delhi:CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Monday slammed the government over the slowdown in the economy and said that this was not just "mismanagement" but "destruction of lives".

Reacting to reports that the government's tax collection is likely to fall short of its estimate by Rs 2.5 lakh crore or 1.2 percent of GDP in 2019-20, Yechury said that the Centre will be made accountable.

"This is not mere mismanagement of the economy. It is the destruction of lives and livelihoods of millions of Indians, while Modi's rich cronies continue to benefit and fund the BJP. The people on the streets have taken note, accountability will be fixed," he tweeted.

Quoting an Oxfam study which said that India's richest one percent hold more than four-times the wealth held by 953 million people who make up for the bottom 70 percent of the country's population, while the total wealth of all Indian billionaires is more than the full-year budget, Yechury said that this is the reason Prime Minister Narendra Modi doesn't want people to know who funds the BJP.

"The whole electoral bond scheme is opaque and points to a collusion between the BJP and those who have become richer as a majority of Indians become poorer," he claimed.