'Worst GDP in India's history': Rahul Gandhi castigates Centre for ignoring March warning

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday hit out at the Centre for the worst-ever contraction of the Gross Domestic Product in India's history. As compared to 5.2% growth in the first quarter of 2019-20, the April-June quarter of 2020-21 showed a contraction of 23.9%. Gandhi lamented the fact that the Union government had ignored his repeated warnings in this regard.

On March 17, 2020, Rahul Gandhi remarked, "I have been warning the government that a massive tsunami is coming. And they are fooling about. They are not clear about what they have to do. India should be preparing itself not just for COVID virus but for the economic devastation that is coming. I am saying it again and again and again. Nobody is listening to me. I am sorry to say, our people are going to go through unimaginable pain in the next 6 months."

Read: Rahul Gandhi Attacks Govt On Informal Economy; Lists Decisions 'turning People To Slaves'

Read: Coronavirus LIVE Updates: India's Tally Crosses 36 Lakh With 78,512 New Cases

GDP estimates might be revised

Currently, there are 36,21,245 confirmed novel coronavirus cases in India out of which 27,74,801 patients have been discharged while 64,469 fatalities have been reported. The Centre noted that restrictions were imposed on non-essential economic activities and movement of people from March 25 to contain the spread of COVID-19. It maintained that this had an impact on economic activities as well as data collection mechanisms.

Mentioning that the timeline for filing statutory returns had been extended, it revealed that the usual data sources were substituted by limited alternatives like GST and interaction with professional bodies. In this background, the Union government hinted that the GDP estimates are likely to undergo revision in due course. Meanwhile, the GST estimates for the July-September quarter shall be released on November 27. 

Congress slams Finance Minister

On August 28, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala lambasted Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for attributing the crisis in the Indian economy to the COVID-19 situation. Speaking after the 41st GST Council meeting on August 27, Sitharaman observed that the economy is facing an extraordinary 'Act of God' situation, which may lead to contraction of the economy. According to Surjewala, the economy had faced setbacks even before the advent of the novel coronavirus crisis.

For instance, he pointed out that the Gross Domestic Product declined for 6 consecutive quarters as of 2019. Moreover, Surjewala highlighted that there was weak demand in the previous year as well. He alleged that the Centre was trying to hide the failure of its economic policies.

Read: India's GDP Crashes To -23.9% In Q1- FY21 Due To COVID-19; Worst Contraction Till Date