BJP's Amit Malviya junks P. Chidambaram's negative view on economy
BJP leader Amit Malviya on Sunday targeted former finance minister P. Chidambaram for painting a grim picture of the economy and linking it to alleged wage stagnation and consumer exploitation due to lack of competition in some sectors.
Chidambaram's attempt to credit the UPA government for economic reforms also did not go down well with Malviya who wrote in a post on social media platform X: 'It's truly pitiful how a former Finance Minister displays such selective amnesia regarding India's economic journey.'
'To claim that the concept of 'profit not being a bad word' originated solely during his tenure conveniently ignores the reality that those reforms, however necessary, were half-baked measures, forced by a crippling Balance of Payments crisis,' said Malviya, in-charge of BJP's National Information and Technology Department.
Earlier, the Congress leader, in a post on social media platform X, said: 'That 'profit' in business is not a bad word became government policy in 1991 when Dr Manmohan Singh was finance minister.'
'The question is how the profit must be shared among promoters, shareholders, labour, government, consumers, society and other stakeholders,' he said.
Malviya responded by saying, 'The former Minister pontificates on profit-sharing, yet seems to forget the UPA era's notorious legacy — the 'Jayanti Tax', rampant corruption scandals, and an environment of policy paralysis that left India languishing among the 'Fragile Five.' Big industries weren't just hesitant, they were actively looking for exits. Profit sharing? Under the UPA, profits seemed reserved for a select few, while genuine enterprise was stifled.'
'Jayanti Tax' is a term used by the BJP to allege corruption under the then environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan in matters related to granting green nod to projects.
While slamming Chidambaram, Malviya also showcased the NDA government's flagship schemes.
'Initiatives like MUDRA Yojana and Stand Up India have empowered over 30 crore aspiring entrepreneurs, fostering grassroots prosperity and ensuring the fruits of growth are shared far more widely than ever conceived during his tenure. That is tangible benefit-sharing, not hollow rhetoric,' he wrote in his post.
Earlier Chidambaram remarked about the economy and said, 'As the Chief Economic Adviser has said many times, the tilt is in favour of capital/promoters and against labour. Wages have stagnated.'
'I may add that because of lack of sufficient competition, consumers are exploited in several sectors, for example, air travel, insurance and pharmaceuticals,' he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
13 minutes ago
- The Hindu
News Analysis: Ahead of polls, all eyes in Bihar on Chirag Paswan's next political move
Poll-bound Bihar is witnessing fast-paced developments with Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) MP from Jamui, Arun Bharti, brother-in-law of party chief Chirag Paswan, saying that supporters want Mr. Paswan to contest the upcoming Assembly election in Bihar, and that too not from any reserved seat but from a general seat. He said this would send a message that he was a leader able to bridge caste lines. Mr. Paswan, who is currently the MP from Hajipur (reserved) seat and the Union Food Processing Industries Minister, himself said in Chhattisgarh that he 'doesn't see himself in national politics for long and the only reason he came into politics was Bihar and Biharis'. Mr. Paswan, who had represented Jamui, a reserved seat, twice in 2014 and 2019, is likely to call a meeting of the LJP(RV) Executive Committee soon to formalise a proposal urging him to contest the upcoming Assembly election. Posters urging him to contest elections from Sheikhpura and Ara seats, and claiming that only he could stop migration from Bihar, are being put up. However, the buzz around junior Paswan centres around two questions. The first is whether he is gearing up to play a bigger role in State politics at the behest of senior National Democratic Alliance partner BJP. The second is whether he has become overambitious in exploring opportunities to be the next Bihar Chief Minister amid concerns over incumbent Nitish Kumar's health and a perceived vacuum on the top after the election. The third is whether the BJP would use Mr. Paswan again to dent the plans of both the Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal and ally Janata Dal (United), as he had done in the 2020 Assembly election. In 2020, the undivided LJP put up candidates at 130 Assembly seats out of the total 243, especially seats contested by the JD(U) and was instrumental in the latter's tally in the Assembly falling to just 43. The JD(U) finished third behind the BJP and RJD in the election and it emerged that the LJP had hurt the JD(U)'s winning chances in at least two dozes seats. Mr. Paswan comes from the Dalit Paswan community which accounts for 5.311% of the State's population, as per the 2022 caste survey. Currently, Mr. Paswan-led LJP (RV) has five MPs but no representation in the State Assembly. After the 2020 election, Mr. Kumar and Mr. Paswan had an uneasy relationship as Mr. Kumar and his party leaders accused Mr. Paswan of fielding party candidates to 'deliberately' defeat the JD(U). However, there was soon a twist, with LJP spliting into two parties - the Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) led by Mr. Paswan's uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras and the LJP(RV) of Mr. Paswan. Mr. Paras, was sidelined in the NDA and walked out of the block while Mr. Paswan was appointed an Union Minister. Recently, he met Mr. Kumar at his residence and after the meeting, asserted that the 'NDA would contest the upcoming Assembly election under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and he will be our leader in the State'. 'Chirag Paswan can contest the Assembly election as every party leader is free to take his own decision but it is very clear that from 2025-30, there will be Nitish Kumar once again,' party spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said on Monday, responding to the recent developments. However, the Opposition RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari said, 'The BJP has trapped Mr. Paswan once again to hurt Mr. Kumar in the election… it is now very clear that the BJP doesn't want Mr. Kumar to continue as CM after the Assembly poll and the tussle in the NDA has begun,' he said. But, is Mr. Paswan overambitious in looking for an opportunity to fill the Chief Minister post? 'May be, but it will be interesting to see whether the BJP would want to offer that seat to Mr. Paswan after election,' said political analyst Nawal Kishore Choudhary. He further asked, 'Why should the BJP promote Mr. Paswan when he too can become another Nitish Kumar?'. On the posters urging Mr. Paswan to contest the State election, he said: 'Don't go by these posters as they could be misleading. He or, the BJP must have chosen a seat for him which will be revealed at a proper time', Mr. Choudhary added.
Time of India
43 minutes ago
- Time of India
Gaurav visits Batadrava before taking charge as APCC chief
1 2 Guwahati: Newly appointed Assam PCC chief Gaurav Gogoi on Monday evening arrived in Guwahati to take charge of the post after being named as the successor of outgoing president Bhupen Kumar Borah. Earlier in the day, he went to the revered Batadrava Than in Nagaon before heading towards Guwahati to assume charge on Tuesday morning. Batadrava is the birthplace of the neo-Vaishnavite saint, scholar and social reformer, Srimanta Sankardeva. "In Batadrava Than, we remembered the message the harmony and unity propagated by Srimanta Sankardeva. We are resolved to march ahead in this path shown by him. Our efforts will be to take his ideology to the people in nooks and corners of Assam and India," Gogoi told the media outside the Than. Gogoi's journey from upper Assam to central Assam's Nagaon and then to Morigaon witnessed some undesirable scenes, with municipal administrations confiscating the banners and hoardings installed by Congress to welcome him, citing "unauthorised installation without permission". Gogoi will visit Kamakhya temple on Tuesday morning before assuming charge as the of the Assam PCC president at state Congress headquarters in Rajiv Bhawan. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like USDJPY đang đi lên không? IC Markets Đăng ký Undo Gogoi said he trusts Congress workers at the grassroots, even as Congress believes in collective leadership. Gogoi said Congress will take key decisions on important issues like alliance formation ahead of 2026 assembly election only after taking to Congress workers at the grassroots and senior party leaders into confidence. "Unless we strengthen our party we cannot be a good ally. To be a good and strong alliance partner, first one has to increase its strength. We also need to seek public opinion on issues they want the alliance to address," Gogoi said. He added that Congress will expose "corruption under the BJP-led govt".Nagaon Municipal Board (NMB) authority in Nagaon town and Guwahati Municipal Corporation removed banners and hoardings installed by Congress on Monday morning, while the Congress workers prepared to accord grand welcome to the new state PCC chief. The banners and hoarding were removed and taken away by enforcement wings of the municipal bodies for installing these "without prior permission". AICC recently named Gogoi Assam PCC chief which is significant as Assam is going to the assembly election early next year. His elevation to the top post in state PCC came at a time when Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had been attacking him for last few weeks in connection with his British wife's alleged connection with ISI of Pakistan.
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
In relief for Delhiites, govt to soon waive ‘pending, inflated' water bills: Minister
In a major relief to residents of the national capital, the Delhi government is soon going to waive 'pending, inflated' water bills, along with the late payment surcharge, Water Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh said Monday. Addressing a press conference on the BJP completing 100 days in power and the achievements of his departments, he said, 'A scheme to waive all domestic water bills is under preparation and it will be implemented soon. Once it is launched, all domestic water bills will be reduced by around 90%…' 'But until this scheme is officially launched, I have already said that if someone hasn't paid their bill, their connection won't be disconnected for now. The people of Delhi are aware that the government is bringing a new scheme, so everyone is waiting for it… So, until the bill payments are sorted out — and right now there are some technical issues — once that is resolved and the scheme is launched, it will reduce the inflated and pending bills up to 90%,' he added. He said that, currently, the software being used by the Delhi Jal Board was developed and maintained by Wipro. 'Their lease period has already ended, and they have been given an extension… the company has refused to make any further changes to the current system… Once this is resolved, the scheme will be launched,' he said. Sources said that under this scheme, the focus will be on waiving the Late Payment Surcharge (LPSC) of domestic bills. 'LPSC charges are calculated at 18% interest plus compounding charges,' said sources. Currently, in the domestic category, the outstanding bill amount is approximately Rs 12,000 to Rs 13,000 crore, out of which Rs 7,000 crore is LPSC. 'If we waive that, we will still be able to recover at least Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000 crore,' said sources. 'Because several residents have not paid their bills for the past 8-9 years, this is an incentive for them to pay the principal amount. Once LPSC is waived, the government will rationalise the bills and give a timeline to the people to pay the principal amount. They will be asked to pay the bills in three to four months. No more extensions or schemes will come after this,' said sources. Besides, the minister also said that the government plans to upgrade the water billing system to address the challenges of revenue losses. According to officials, Delhi has approximately 29 lakh water connections. As per the 2011 census, Delhi has 34 lakh households. Last year, the previous AAP government also announced a one-time settlement scheme for pending water bills ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, claiming that it would benefit around 12 lakh consumers, of which 7 lakh will not have to pay any amount. However, the scheme hit a roadblock after the Finance Department raised questions and said that it would lead to financial implications. It said that the benefits of the scheme should not be given to the consumers who have not paid the bills for the last 11 years.
