Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday took down Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha over his claim on unemployment in India. Rahul Gandhi said in the Lok Sabha that governments in over 20 years have been unable to give a conclusive answer to the youth on unemployment.
In a post-Budget interview with India Today TV, Sitharaman took the LoP to the cleaners and said that during the UPA regime, India’s economy was on a standstill as banks faced massive losses and industry leaders shut shop.
“”Forget employment, during UPA rule, nothing happened. There was an economic standstill, banks faced massive losses, industry leaders shut shop, and some even left India.” She even said that the Gandhi scion accepting the UPA was unable to provide jobs to the youth is not enough.
“The economy was in doldrums, the leaders who left the economy in absolute shambles are today accepting that they were unable to provide jobs-this isn’t enough. Does this even make sense?”
During his speech, Gandhi acknowledged the failures of the previous UPA government and the current NDA dispensation on the issue of unemployment.
“Despite economic growth, we have not been able to tackle unemployment effectively. Neither the UPA nor the NDA governments have provided a clear roadmap for India’s youth,” he said.
Calling ‘Make in India’ a good initiative, he said: “We saw the statues, functions, and the so-called investors, and the result is right in front of me today.” Rahul claimed the share of manufacturing sector fell from 15.3 per cent of the GDP in 2014 to 12.6 per cent today, the lowest in 60 years.
Sitharaman also attacked the UPA’s economic legacy, while stating economic offenders took advantage of the weak system and banks in crisis.
She also said that the Modi government has confiscated properties belonging to such offenders and returned ₹22,000 crore to the banks with the help of the Enforcement Directorate.