Central govt is nervous, says Congress' Manish Tewari on 'White Paper'

Congress MP Manish Tewari referred to the 'White Paper ' presented on the Indian economy in Parliament by Centre as "nervousness", which he claimed was evident in the Union Finance Minister's response.

Further coming down heavily on the BJP-led Central government, Tewari went on to say if a government in power for 10 years needs to criticize the previous government to highlight its achievements, it simply shows that they have achieved little in their tenure.

"The government is nervous, it was reflected in the Union Finance Minister's reply. If a government that has been in power for a decade needs to criticize the administration from 10 years ago to highlight its achievements, then it means that in their 10-year tenure, nothing has happened," Tewari told ANI.

After the PM Modi-led Central government presented the 'White Paper' in the Parliament on Thursday, the Opposition, mainly Congress have been critical of it, criticising the Centre.

The document, which has been prepared by the Ministry of Finance, essentially compares the 10-year record of economic governance under the Congress-led UPA governments (between 2004-05 and 2013-14) with the 10-year record of the BJP-led NDA governments (between 2014-15 and 2023-24).

Replying to the debate on the 'White Paper on Indian Economy' tabled in Parliament on Wednesday, Sitharaman accused the Congress-led UPA government of compromising national security in 10 years.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said that shortage of ammunition plagued defence forces during its rule and the Modi government has doubled the defence budget.

She said the UPA government believed that an undeveloped border was safer than a developed border.

"National security was compromised in those ten years....Critical shortage of ammunition and defence ammunition was the main feature of 2014, when we inherited the economy. Bulletproof jackets were not available for our soldiers...Night vision goggles were not available, so in the night they couldn't do a thing and were exposing themselves like sitting ducks in pitch darkness," she said.

"The White Paper is a serious document for documentary evidence for everything that is said in it and prepared with an intention of informing the House of the 10 years' dedicated effort to get the government work in such a way that the economy is back on rails and also progress in such a way that our aspirations can be met," she added.