Monumental bl under, says Manmohan
“DEMO NET IS AT I ON HAS PROVED TO BE A MERE BLUSTER TO REAP POLITICAL DIVIDENDS WHILE THE REAL OFFENDERS HAVE ESCAPED... THISWAS AN ORGANISED LOOT AND LEGALISED PLUNDER” Manmohan Singh, Former prime minister
Former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday came down hard on the Narendra Modi government’s key policy measures over the past one year, saying while demonetisation was a “monumental blunder”, it was followed up by a “badly designed and hastily implemented GST”.
Singh’s remarks came during his address to youths and small businessmen in Ahmedabad, a day before the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was to observe the first anniversary of demonetisation on November 8 as ‘ antiblack money day’.
“Demonetisation has proved to be mere disaster. One-percentage-point fall in GDP (gross domestic product) costs our nation ~1.5 lakh crore. Think of the human impact of this loss where businesses had to shut down,” said the veteran Congress leader, who is campaigning for his party in Gujarat, which goes to the polls next month.
“The government did not heed our advice on demonetisation. Even more tragic is that after the monumental blunder of demonetisation, instead of providing relief to the poor, farmers, and small and medium businesses, the government inflicted a badly designed and hastily implemented GST on people. This is a complete disaster for our economy,” he added.
He said the note ban coupled with the goods and services tax (GST) would push people back into poverty after the previous Congress-led UPA government brought 140 million people out of poverty. Citing examples of Surat’s textile industry, Morbi’s ceramic industry, and Rajkot’s automobile components industry, he said the domestic industry could not cope with the impact of the two measures, resulting into China benefiting through increased imports.
“In Surat alone, 60,000 looms have been discarded since July. 21,000 jobs have been lost in just one industrial cluster in Surat. In the rest of the country, it is equally bad, if not worse. The unprecedented growth in imports from China can be attributed to demonetisation and the GST. These twin blows damaged India’s SME sector,” the 85-yearold leader said. Taking a further dig at the GST, Singh said the current structure was a “great departure” from the Congress’ vision and had “transformed into a mess”.