ಮೋದಿಯಿಂದಾಗಿ ಆರ್ಥಿಕತೆ ಛಿದ್ರ, ಜನರಲ್ಲಿ ಭಯಭೀತಿ: ಪಿ. ಚಿದಂಬರಂ ಗರಂ

ಆರ್ಥಿಕತೆಯು ಬೇಡಿಕೆಯ ನಿರ್ಬಂಧಗಳನ್ನು ಎದುರಿಸುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಹೂಡಿಕೆಯು ಕುಸಿಯುತ್ತಿದೆ. ತತ್ಪರಿಣಾಮ ಆರ್ಥಿಕತೆಯ ಉಪಭೋಗದ ಮಟ್ಟ ಸಹ ಇಳಿಕೆಯಾಗುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಹೆಚ್ಚು-ಹೆಚ್ಚು ನಿರುದ್ಯೋಗವನ್ನು ಎದುರಿಸುತ್ತಿದೆ. ದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಭಯ ಮತ್ತು ಅನಿಶ್ಚಿತತೆಯು ಮೇಲುಗೈ ಸಾಧಿಸಿದೆ ಎಂದು ಪಿ. ಚಿದಂಬರಂ ಕೇಂದ್ರದ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಹರಿಹಾಯ್ದರು.

ಮೋದಿ- ಚಿದಂಬರಂ

Published : Feb 10, 2020, 4:51 PM IST

ನವದೆಹಲಿ: ಮಾಜಿ ಹಣಕಾಸು ಸಚಿವ ಪಿ.ಚಿದಂಬರಂ ಅವರು ಮೋದಿ ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ಆರ್ಥಿಕ ನಿರ್ವಹಣೆಯ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಹರಿಹಾಯ್ದಿದ್ದಾರೆ. 'ಇದೊಂದು ತೀರಾ ಅಸಮರ್ಥ ವೈದ್ಯರ ತಂಡವೆಂದು' ವ್ಯಂಗ್ಯವಾಡಿದರು.

2020-21ರ ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಬಜೆಟ್ ಕುರಿತ ಸಂಸತ್ ಚರ್ಚೆಯ ವೇಳೆ ಮಾತನಾಡಿದ ಅವರು, ಹೆಚ್ಚುತ್ತಿರುವ ನಿರುದ್ಯೋಗ ಮತ್ತು ಉಪಭೋಗದ ಕುಸಿತವು ಭಾರತವನ್ನು ಬಡವಾಗಿಸುತ್ತಿದೆ ಎಂದು ಟೀಕಿಸಿದರು.

ಆರ್ಥಿಕತೆಯು ಬೇಡಿಕೆಯ ನಿರ್ಬಂಧಗಳನ್ನು ಎದುರಿಸುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಹೂಡಿಕೆಯು ಕುಸಿಯುತ್ತಿದೆ. ತತ್ಪರಿಣಾಮ ಆರ್ಥಿಕತೆಯ ಉಪಭೋಗದ ಮಟ್ಟ ಸಹ ಇಳಿಕೆಯಾಗುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಹೆಚ್ಚು-ಹೆಚ್ಚು ನಿರುದ್ಯೋಗವನ್ನು ಎದುರಿಸುತ್ತಿದೆ. ದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಭಯ ಮತ್ತು ಅನಿಶ್ಚಿತತೆಯು ಮೇಲುಗೈ ಸಾಧಿಸಿದೆ ಎಂದರು.

ನಾಲ್ಕು ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಕಾಲ ಬಿಜೆಪಿ ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ಮುಖ್ಯ ಆರ್ಥಿಕ ಸಲಹೆಗಾರರಾಗಿದ್ದ ಅರವಿಂದ್ ಸುಬ್ರಮಣಿಯನ್ 'ಆರ್ಥಿಕತೆ ಐಸಿಯು'ನಲ್ಲಿದೆ ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಈಗ ನಾನು ರೋಗಿಯನ್ನು ಐಸಿಯುನಿಂದ ಹೊರಗಿಡಲಾಗಿದೆ ಎಂದು ಹೇಳುತ್ತೇನೆ. ಅಸಮರ್ಥ ವೈದ್ಯರು ರೋಗಿಗೆ ಚಿಕಿತ್ಸೆ ನೀಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಎಂದು ಚಿದಂಬರಂ ವ್ಯಂಗ್ಯವಾಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ.

ರೋಗ ಪೀಡಿತರನ್ನು ಐಸಿಯುನಿಂದ ಹೊರಗಿಡುವುದು ಮತ್ತು ಅಸಮರ್ಥ ವೈದ್ಯರಿಂದ ಚಿಕಿತ್ಸೆ ಕೊಡಿಸುವುದು ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಅಪಾಯಕಾರಿ. ಸುತ್ತಲೂ ನಿಂತು 'ಸಬ್ ಕಾ ಸಾಥ್, ಸಬ್ ಕಾ ವಿಶ್ವಾಸ್' ಎಂಬ ಘೋಷಣೆ ಜಪಿಸುವುದರಿಂದ ಏನು ಪ್ರಯೋಜನವಿದೆ ಎಂದು ಪ್ರಶ್ನಿಸಿದರು.

ಮೋದಿ ಸರ್ಕಾರವು ಪ್ರತಿ ಸಮರ್ಥ ವೈದ್ಯರನ್ನೂ ಮನೆಗೆ ಸೇರಿಸಿತು. ಅಂತಹ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿಗಳ ಪಟ್ಟಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾಜಿ ಆರ್‌ಬಿಐ ಗವರ್ನರ್ ರಘುರಾಮ್ ರಾಜನ್, ಮಾಜಿ ಸಿಇಎ ಅರವಿಂದ್ ಸುಬ್ರಮಣಿಯನ್, ಮಾಜಿ ಆರ್‌ಬಿಐ ಗವರ್ನರ್ ಉರ್ಜಿತ್ ಪಟೇಲ್ ಮತ್ತು ನೀತಿ ಆಯೋಗದ ಮಾಜಿ ಉಪಾಧ್ಯಕ್ಷ ಅರವಿಂದ್ ಪನಾಗರಿಯಾ ಸೇರಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಎಂದರು.

'ನಿಮ್ಮ ವೈದ್ಯರು ಯಾರು, ನಾನು ತಿಳಿದುಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ಬಯಸುತ್ತೇನೆ'. ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್‌ನ ಅಸ್ಪೃಶ್ಯರೆಂದು ಪರಿಗಣಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಉಳಿದ ಪ್ರತಿಪಕ್ಷಗಳ ಒಳ್ಳೆಯದರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಯೋಚಿಸುತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ. ಮೋದಿ ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಜನರ ಕೈಯಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಹಣವನ್ನು ಕಾರ್ಪೊರೇಟ್ ತೆರಿಗೆ ಕಡಿತದ ಮೂಲಕ ಆ ಹಣವನ್ನು 200 ಕಾರ್ಪೊರೇಟ್‌ಗಳ ಕೈಯಲ್ಲಿಡುತ್ತಿದೆ ಎಂದು ಚಿದಂಬರಂ ಆರೋಪಿಸಿದರು.

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PRI ECO GEN NAT
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Economy close to collapse, fear in country: Chidambaram
New Delhi, Feb 10 (PTI) Former finance minister P
Chidambaram on Monday tore into the Modi government's handling
of the economy, saying it was close to collapse and was been
attended by "very incompetent doctors."
Initiating the debate on the Union Budget for 2020-21, he
said rising unemployment and falling consumption was making
India poorer.
The economy, he said, is facing demand constraints and is
investment starved. The economy is facing fall in consumption
and rising unemployment.
"Fear and uncertainty prevails in the country," he added.
He said the chief economic advisor to the BJP government
for four years, Arvind Subramanian has stated that the economy
is in the ICU. But "I would say the patient has been kept out
of ICU and incompetent doctors are looking at the patient,"
Chidambaram said.
"It is dangerous to have a patient out of ICU and being
looked upon by incompetent doctors. What is the point standing
around and chanting slogan 'Sab ka saath, sab ka vishwas'," he
said, adding every competent doctor the Modi government could
ever identify has left the country.
His said a list of such people included former RBI
governor Raghurman Rajan, former CEA Arvind Subramanian,
former RBI governor Urjit Patel and former NITI Aayog vice
chairman Arvind Panagariya.
"Who are your doctors, I want to know," he said, adding
the government considers Congress as untouchable and doesn't
think of any good about the rest of the opposition and so
doesn't consult them.
Chidambaram charged that instead of putting money in the
hands of people, the Modi government "put money in hands of
200 corporates" by way of corporate tax.
He said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her 160-
minute budget speech did not talk of the economy and its
management.
"You are living in echo chambers. You want to hear your
own voice," he said.
Listing problems with the Modi government, Chidambaram
said it refuses to admits in mistakes, lives in denial and has
predispositions.
The demonetisation of old 1000 and 500 rupee notes as
well as hurried implementation of the Goods and Services Tax
(GST) are "monumental blunders" that ruined the economy, he
said, adding the Modi regime is predisposed to protectionism,
a 'strong' rupee and is against bilateral and multilateral
agreements.
"It is living in denial," he said, adding the economic
growth has fallen for hereto unseen six consecutive quarters.
He wondered on the narrative Finance Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman was trying to give after reading out a 160-minute
budget speech with few pages left unread.
Her budget neither made any reference to the Economic
Survey nor picked up a single idea from it, he said.
Chidambaram, who is credited with presenting a 'dream
budget' more than two decades back, said the GDP growth has
declined for six consecutive quarters, agriculture is growing
by just 2 per cent, while consumer price inflation has risen
from 1.9 per cent in January 2019 to 7.4 per cent in a matter
of 11 months.
Also, food inflation is at 12.2 per cent. Bank credit is
growing 8 per cent with non-food credit rising by 7-8 per cent
and credit to industry by just 2.7 per cent. Credit to
agriculture has declined from 18.3 per cent to 5.3 per cent
and that for MSMEs from 6.7 per cent to 1.6 per cent.
Overall industrial index showed just 0.6 per cent growth.
"Every major industry is either near zero or in negative
zone," he said, adding thermal power plants are operating at
just 55 per cent of the capacity as factories have either
closed or are on the verge of closure.
"That gives you a good picture of the state of economy.
You don't require MRI," he said. "You are in management for
six years. How long can you blame previous managers."
He charged the government with burying unfavourable
reports such as the labour survey that put unemployment at 45
-year high of 6.1 per cent at end of 2017-18. Also, consumer
expenditure has falling to 3.7 per cent between 2011-12 and
2017-18.
Drilling holes in Budget numbers, he said the 2019-20
budget projected a nominal GDP growth of 12 per cent but ended
with just 8.5 per cent. Fiscal deficit was targeted to be
shrunk to 3.3 per cent of the GDP but ended by at 3.8 per cent
and in the next fiscal it is being targeted at 3.5 per cent.
Revenue deficit was targeted at 2.3 per cent in fiscal
ending March 31, 2020 but ended up at 2.4 per cent and in the
next it will rise to 2.8 per cent, he said, adding capital
expenditure in the next fiscal will shrink to 0.7 per cent
from 1.4 per cent in the current.
Net tax revenue in the current fiscal was targeted at Rs
16.49 lakh crore but only Rs 9 lakh crore was collected in
first nine months till December 2019 and "you want us to
believe this will rise to Rs 15 lakh crore by March 2020," he
said.
Similarly, expenditure in 2019-20 was pegged at Rs 27.86
lakh crore but only Rs 11.78 lakh crore spent during April-
December and by March this is projected to rise to Rs 27 lakh
crore.
"You have no money to spend... and these are masked by
numbers," he said. "Numbers are not easily acceptable or
believable."
Chidambaram said the government is facing shortfall in
all forms of taxes - Rs 1.56 lakh crore on corporate tax, Rs
10,000 crore on personal income tax, Rs 30,000 crore on
customs, Rs 52,000 crore on excise and Rs 51,000 crore on GST.
This despite "the extraordinary powers" and "all kinds of
power" given to lower level tax officials, he said.
He read of list of heads under which allocation has
fallen - food subsidy, agriculture, PM-Kisan, rural roads,
mid-day meal scheme, ICDS, skill development, Ayushman Bharat,
rural development and MGNEGA. PTI ANZ
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