BJP MP denies slowdown in India's economy, calls it a ploy 'to defame nation & govt'

Denying the sharp slowdown in India's economy, BJP Lok Sabha MP Virendra Singh Mast on December 5 asked, "Why are there traffic jams on the roads if there is a decline in the automobile sales?" According to him, "people are creating an atmosphere of an economic slowdown to defame the government." In the figures released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), India's second-quarter GDP growth number stands at 4.5%. The previous Q1 GDP growth rate was at 5%.  

During the Lok Sabha session in the Parliament on Thursday, Mast said, "An atmosphere is being created to project that there is an economic slowdown. To defame the nation and government, people are saying that the automobile sector has slowed down. If there is a decline in automobile sales, then why can we see traffic jams on the roads? There are 20 vehicles in one home."

GDP Growth Rate In Q2

India's second-quarter GDP (July-September) growth rate stood at 4.5% - the slowest growth in almost seven years, as released by Central Statistics Office on Friday. The previous quarter (April-June) GDP numbers were at 5% and the Q2 (2018-2019) stood at 7%. This development comes in spite of the government's various economic moves like the merger of nine PSU banks into four, major corporate tax cuts, policy changes in the automobile sector, reduction in tax regulations to boost foreign income, attract investors and increase the consumer demand. The government currently follows the base year of 2011-12.

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Opposition criticizes govt

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah over the ongoing economic slowdown. He stated that both the leaders live in their "own world" and "fantasize about things". The opposition parties have been criticising the government over the current state of the economy and they have also raised the issue in the ongoing Winter Session of the Parliament.

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(WITH ANI INPUTS)