Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has hit out at the previous UPA administration, accusing them of economic mismanagement and dubbing Sonia Gandhi as the ‘super Prime Minister’. In debating the white paper on India’s economy, Sitharaman argued the allegations within it were evidence-based, scrutinizing the NAC’s unaccountable role and highlighting the staggering mismanagement within the defence sector during the UPA era, including significant scams like the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland deal. Sitharaman charged the UPA with neglecting national security needs and inhibiting project progresses through delayed environmental clearances. She pointed to the failure in leadership, illustrated by Rahul Gandhi’s public ordinance tear-up which disrespected the seated Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh.
Sitharaman credited the Modi administration with rectifying governance woes and championing reforms that have revitalized India’s economy, reducing clearance times, more than doubling the defence budget, and launching successful initiatives like the PLI schemes. She contrasted the ED’s toothless past against its current empowered stance under the PMLA, which resulted in significant recovery and enhanced conviction rates. Sitharaman noted how under Modi’s leadership, the average inflation has remained below 8 percent, savings from Aadhaar DBT reached Rs 2.7 lakh crore, and the governance philosophy shifted from ‘family first’ to ‘nation first’, propelling India towards becoming the third-largest global economy by 2047.
However, the opposition BJP blasted the UPA for their handling of the economy, with BJP’s state general secretary Pradeep Verma emphasizing the decline of NPA numbers and infrastructure improvements under the NDA. Conversely, the Congress accused the current government’s policies of sinking the nation into economic trouble, highlighting issues like strained external relations, the controversial Agniveer scheme, rising caste-based violence, and the monumental increase in national debt. Party spokesperson Rakesh Sinha scorned the NDA for not addressing core issues and urged the production of more comprehensive white papers.