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The political showdown over the tit-for-tit reports on the state of the economy during the NDA and UPA years is set to go up a notch on Friday, with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman set to table a motion on the 'White Paper' on the alleged fiscal mismanagement of the Congress-led coalition at the Centre for the consideration of the Lok Sabha.
On a day of hectic political developments, with the ruling Left in Kerala joining the ongoing protest in the national capital against the alleged fiscal injustice to southern states by the Centre, the Congress, on Thursday, came out with what it called a 'Black Paper' against the BJP-led NDA ahead of the latter's tabling of the promised 'white paper' on the state of the economy under UPA rule. While the Congress claimed untamed inflation and rising unemployment during the current NDA regime led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in its 'Black Paper', the Centre tore into the grand old party over the alleged fiscal woes in the UPA years. The motion, to be tabled by Sitharaman on Friday under Rule 342, reads, "That this House do consider the White Paper on the Indian Economy and its impact on the lives of the people of India". Meanwhile, the Centre, in its 'White Paper', came out with some serious changes against the Congress-led UPA, claiming that when the BJP-led government came to power in 2014, the economy was in a fragile state, public finances were in bad shape, there was economic mismanagement and financial indiscipline, as well as 'widespread corruption'. "It was a crisis situation. The responsibility to mend the economy step by step and to put the governance systems in order was enormous. Our government refrained from bringing out a white paper on the poor state of affairs then. That would have given a negative narrative and shaken the confidence of all, including investors. The need of the hour was to give hope to the people, to attract investments, both domestic and global and to build support for the much-needed reforms," the 'White Paper' read. It stated that the government believed in 'Nation-First' and not in scoring political points. "Now that we have stabilised the economy and set it on a recovery and growth path, it is necessary to place in the public domain the seemingly insurmountable challenges left behind as a legacy by the UPA Government," the White Paper stated further. The Budget Session on Thursday started with the address by President Droupadi Murmu to the joint sitting of two Houses on January 31. This is the last session of the current Lok Sabha before the general elections, which are likely to be held in April-May this year. While presenting the interim Union Budget on February 1, Sitharaman said the Centre would present a 'White Paper' comparing the economic performance of 10 years of the Congress-led UPA government with a decade of NDA rule under PM Modi. The Budget Session was scheduled to conclude on February 9 and has been extended by a day. (ANI)
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