Note ban a disaster, GST poorly conceived: Yashwant Sinha lambasts Modi govt’s policies

[Kool_SRG]

Contradicting BJP chief Amit Shah’s stand that the economy was sluggish due to ‘technical reasons’, Sinha says it is here to stay and the slowdown in demand has only aggravated the situation.

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former finance minister Yashwant Sinha launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led central government’s economic policies,saying that the economy is headed for a downward spiral.

In an opinion piece for the Indian Express, Sinha lambasts the government’s decisions on the economic front. “I shall be failing in my national duty if I did not speak up even now against the mess the finance minister has made of the economy,” writes Sinha, adding that many within the BJP are aware of the situation, but fear speaking up.

In the no-holds barred piece, Sinha says demonetisation proved to be an “unmitigated economic disaster” and that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was a “badly conceived and poorly implemented” havoc.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley comes in for the bulk of the criticism, as Sinha writes, “Arun Jaitley is considered to be the best and the brightest in this government. It was a foregone conclusion before the 2014 elections that he would be the finance minister in the new government.”

 

Sinha further took on BJP president Amit Shah for citing ‘technical’ reasons for slowdown in the GDP rate and wrote, “Even the SBI, the largest public sector bank of the country, has stated with unusual frankness that the slowdown is not transient or “technical”, it is here to stay and the slowdown in demand has only aggravated the situation. It has openly contradicted what the BJP president said just a few days ago that the slowdown in the last quarter was on account of “technical” reasons and will be corrected soon.”

HIGHLIGHTS

In his scathing piece, Yashwant Sinha says demonetisation was an “unmitigated economic disaster” and GST was a “badly conceived and poorly implemented” havoc.

Sinha also said other people within the BJP were aware of the situation, but “fear” speaking up.

On that note, the figures of the first quarter of fiscal 2017-18, released last month, showed the GDP growth rate falling at 5.7 percent, while in the concurrent period last year, the GDP was soaring ahead at 7.6 per cent.

In his article, Sinha also took a jibe at raids conducted by Income Tax department, Enforcement Directorate and Central Bureau of Investigation and said that it has become “a new game to instill fear in the minds of people,” adding, “We protested against raid raj when we were in opposition. Today it has become the order of the day.”

He also ridiculed the “massive” loan waivers given to the farmers “varying from one paise to a few rupees.”

Sinha concluded his article by saying, “The prime minister claims that he has seen poverty from close quarters. His finance minister is working over-time to make sure that all Indians also see it from equally close quarters.”

Sinha’s unsually sharp piece caused quite the stir and he started trending on social media. The Opposition has reacted strongly to the piece, with senior Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram lauding Sinha’s words as proof that truth will prevail. “Yashwant Sinha speaks Truth to Power. Will Power now admit the Truth that economy is sinking?,” tweeted Chiadambaram.

[Ara_Tenkai]

Anni ok kani... yashwanth sinha was sacked from BJP anukunta kada 2014 elections mundu??? I donot remember exactly?? Does anyone recollect?? Or was it jaswanth singh??

[Kool_SRG]

2 minutes ago, Ara_Tenkai said:

Anni ok kani... yashwanth sinha was sacked from BJP anukunta kada 2014 elections mundu??? I donot remember exactly?? Does anyone recollect??

Talk vachindi gaani he is in BJP still & his son Jayant sinha is a state minister in Modi's cabinet..

[Kontekurradu]

Lol Bodi, anduke tea kasukune vadini PM sethe inte vuntadi result 

[Ara_Tenkai]

5 minutes ago, Kool_SRG said:

Talk vachindi gaani he is in BJP still & his son Jayant sinha is a state minister in Modi's cabinet..

oh okk...

[Kool_SRG]

Yashwant Sinha: Can’t blame UPA govt for poor economic situation, we also got opportunity

Yashwant Sinha also said that when he was the party spokesperson before 2014, they used to call the country's economic situation under the UPA government as 'policy paralysis'.

A day after he criticised the BJP-led government’s poor handling of the economy in a stinging Op-ed in The Indian Express, former finance minister Yashwant Sinha on Thursday told news agency ANI that the government cannot blame the previous UPA regime for the country’s current dismal economic situation. “Hum isse pehli ki sarkaar ko dosh nahi de sakte kyunki humein pura mauka mila hai (We can’t blame the previous government because we also got the opportunity).”

Sinha also said that when he was the party’s spokesperson before 2014, they used to call the country’s economic situation under the UPA government as ‘policy paralysis’. “Before 2014, I was party spokesperson when it came to economic affairs, and we used to call UPA situation then ‘policy paralysis’,” he added. 

In a scathing Op-ed in the Indian Express on Wednesday, Yashwant Sinha slammed the Modi government saying ‘the economy is on a downward spiral’ and blamed Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for “the mess the finance minister has made of the economy”.  He wrote: “The prime minister claims that he has seen poverty from close quarters. His finance minister is working over-time to make sure that all Indians also see it from equally close quarters.”

“Private investment has shrunk as never before in two decades, industrial production has all but collapsed, agriculture is in distress, construction industry, a big employer of the work force, is in the doldrums, the rest of the service sector is also in the slow lane, exports have dwindled, sector after sector of the economy is in distress, demonetisation has proved to be an unmitigated economic disaster, a badly conceived and poorly implemented GST has played havoc with businesses and sunk many of them and countless millions have lost their jobs with hardly any new opportunities coming the way of the new entrants to the labour market,” wrote Sinha.

Former finance minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram applauded Yashwant Sinha for “speaking truth to power” about the economy. He said it would be a “miracle” if the BJP-led government manages to turn around the economy before its term ends in 2019. Chidambaram said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should take the responsibility for the economic decline even as he asked industry captains and others to speak up. Also 

“The government must bear responsibility and, as the head of the government, the Prime Minister must bear responsibility. Of course, as the minister in charge of the portfolio, the Finance Minister has to share a very, very large part of the blame,” Chidambaram added.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi also took a shot at the government. “Ladies & Gentlemen, this is your copilot & FM speaking. Plz fasten your seat belts & take brace position. The wings have fallen off our plane,” Rahul had tweeted on Wednesday. 

Senior Left leader D Raja also said the BJP-led government should take note of Yashwant Sinha’s article. “He is one of the senior leaders of the BJP. He is also the former Finance Minister. He knows how the economy functions. And he is not the first person, several economists have come out to say that the economy is in a bad shape, in shambles. Economic slowdown is a concern. But Prime Minister Modi keeps talking about development. There is neither job creation, nor economic growth. What is the development that he is talking about. I don’t know whether the government will take note of such opinions or simply dismiss everything and continue to live in their own make-believe world,” he said.

[Kontekurradu]

LOL BJP 

[HugoStrange]

Demonetization and GST are huge success in the eyes of Modi, purpose blackmoney kosamo, taxes thagginchano kadu. Full tax dobbanu. Demonetization valla cash antha banks loki vachindi, eppudu anni transactions ni track cheyachu, so full tax vasthundi. GST kuda anthe, tax padani chala vasthuvula meda tax paduthundi. 

28% sales tax anedi matram chala anyayam, ee thalaku masinavadiki vachindo kani ee idea. 

bikes meda 28% ante ela, below middle class people bikes konaleru

[Maryadaramanna]

Worst financial management; UPA appudu excess taxes vesi janalni 10gestunnaru ani okate edupu...ippudu avi inka perigaayi

28% service tax on few goods endi ra ayya... petrol meeda 140% anta..thu

hopefully, Income tax abolish cheyyochu next year; at leat no tax until 10lakh. 

[Bhai]

On 9/27/2017 at 5:14 AM, Ara_Tenkai said:

Anni ok kani... yashwanth sinha was sacked from BJP anukunta kada 2014 elections mundu??? I donot remember exactly?? Does anyone recollect?? Or was it jaswanth singh??

Replaced by his son 

[Bhai]

On 9/27/2017 at 5:21 AM, Kontekurradu said:

Lol Bodi, anduke tea kasukune vadini PM sethe inte vuntadi result 

 

3 hours ago, Kontekurradu said:

LOL BJP