Centre derailing India's economy: Cong

The Congress today accused the government of derailing India's economy, saying Modi has mastered the art of "economic disasters".
It also attacked BJP chief Amit Shah for claiming that Modi brought about economic integration of the country after Sardar Patel's political integration and B R Ambedkar's social integration.
"The Modi government mismanaged the economy and mastered the art of economic disasters, with savings being destroyed, and jobs, growth, exports and investment coming down. The only thing that is rising is inflation and deficit," Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said.
He said the government has reserved its place in the economic history of India as one that squandered away the gains of a thriving economy and reversed its ranking from the fastest growing large economy to a sluggish, stagnating and a declining one.

Singhvi said the economy that was growing has been "derailed" due to "unwitting and disastrous" decision making and cited the case of demonetisation and the GST, which despite being a "good idea" was translated into a "flawed law" with "bad implementation", adversely affecting the manufacturing sector.
"The BJP suffers from an age-old habit of false bravado. Empty rhetoric and loud boastfulness has shut its blinkered eyes to reality," he said.

The Congress leader attacked Shah, saying his claims placing Narendra Modi on the same pedestal as Sardar Patel and Babasaheb Ambedkar "are not only a contemptuous insult to our founding fathers but also a pathetic attempt to paint black into white".

He also hit out at Shah for attributing the plummeting GDP figures to "technical reasons" and said that " he desperately needs to coach himself in the basic economic indices which are plunging and declining at the speed of light".
Singhvi said the common, middle and lower class people have been severely hit, but Amit Shah is "mocking" them.
The Congress leader said it is now clear that Modi's "demonetisation disaster" has dealt a catastrophic blow to the economic growth of India and shaved off 2 per cent of the GDP.
He claimed that every economist has agreed that India's economic growth has slowed down.

Singhvi said growth slowed down from 9.2 per cent to 5.7 per cent in the last six quarters despite the ruling establishment devising a new method of GDP calculation.
He said job creation remains the "single biggest failure" of the BJP government, and as per labour bureau data, it is at the lowest in 8 years.
He said farmers are badly affected as the government has failed to fulfil its promise of giving MSP + 50 pc profit.
Singhvi also said that exports have plunged, bringing sluggishness in the economy.
In the 10 years of the UPA government, exports had risen to USD 314 billion in 2013-14, registering a compound annual growth of 17.3 per cent, he said, adding that in the last three years of the NDA government they have come down to -18 pc in 2016-17 and 5 pc this year.

Private investment is also not driving growth as it has come down drastically, the Congress leader said, adding that the "Make In India Lion has failed to Roar!".
Talking about rising NPA's, he said the PSU banks are bleeding and the "NDA government has become an NPA government".
He said the quantum of bad loans in Gujarat has increased 2.5 times and at the end of June 2017, gross non-performing assets of banks in the state crossed the Rs 35,000 crore mark, more than double the numbers registered in June 2014.