Opposition questions govt over rising inflation, unemployment; Sitharaman calls opposition jealous

India is the fastest-growing economy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi but there are people in the Opposition who keep raising questions over the country's progress just out of jealousy, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in Lok Sabha on Monday.

New Delhi: Opposition parties on Monday criticised the government in the Lok Sabha over rising inflation, high unemployment and falling value of domestic currency. Participating in the discussion on the supplementary demands for grants, Saugata Roy of the Trinamool Congress said the government would need out-of-the-box solutions to deal with the economic woes of the country.

He said that the government is yet to come out with any step to arrest fall in the value of rupee and containing inflation, which is impacting lives of poor and middle-class people. "Have we left it to the RBI alone to control inflation? Or the government has anything to say about inflation?" he asked. He added that food and fuel inflation must be controlled.

Cut in jobs by big firms such as Twitter and Meta would have implications on the Indian IT industry as well, Roy remarked. He asked Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to be more "charitable and fairer" towards West Bengal. "We have huge pending dues from the central government...Rs 7,300 crore in NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) and huge amounts in House for All (scheme)," he said.

"Let us forget old rivalries...Strong states mean a strong Centre," he added. Congress member K Suresh too said the government is finding it difficult to achieve the disinvestment targets. He said that different multi-lateral institutions and rating agencies have revised downwards their India's economic growth projections.

"Unemployment rate is high, particularly in the rural areas...There are no jobs in urban areas," Suresh said, adding, "We are not jealous, we are very much worried." The government has failed to address these issues, he said, alleging it has also not extended any help to Kerala. He added that in Kerala natural rubber and cashew industry is in crisis and the centre is not taking any step to help them.

India is the fastest-growing economy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi but there are people in the Opposition who keep raising questions over the country's progress just out of jealousy, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in Lok Sabha on Monday. The minister's remark came during the Question Hour after Congress member from Telangana A Revanth Reddy raised the issue of depreciation of the rupee against the dollar and sought to know from the government if it has any action plan to control the situation.

The Congress MP from Telangana alleged that the Modi government has ruined the country's economy since 2014 and also referred to Prime Ministre Modi's remark made during the erstwhile Congress-led UPA regime that the rupee had gone into the ICU when it was valued at Rs 66 against a dollar.

Replying to Reddy's question, Sitharaman said the Congress member, while referring to Modi's remarks on the value of the rupee against the dollar in the past, should have also spoken about the economic indicators of that time. Economy was certainly in the ICU then. India was kept in fragile five, she said. "India is the fastest growing economy today'' despite the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, she asserted.

"This is a matter of pride. But they are making fun of it," she said. "It's sad that they talk such things out of jealousy when our economy is doing well. Today these people are standing against the Indian economy, the finance minister hit back. She asserted that the Indian rupee has been strong against "every currency". "And, that is proved and I can read the records," she added.

The US dollar is getting "stronger and stronger" due to "the policy adopted by the US Fed", the finance minister said. Congress on Monday expressed "strong objections" to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's comments in Parliament that some people are "jealous" of the country's economic growth, saying India is a democratic nation and every citizen has a right to question the government.

Participating in the discussion on the supplementary demands for grants in the Lok Sabha, Congress member K Suresh said "nobody is jealous about India's progress". "Every single Indian has the right to question...It is called democracy. People rights are supreme...We are still living in a democracy," he said.

Earlier in the day, replying to a question, Sitharaman said it is regrettable that when Indian economy is doing well and is growing at a faster rate, some people are "jealous" over it. Suresh said the finance minister is stating that Indian economy is the fastest growing and if this is the case, then "we are not jealous, but we are worried".