'Modi-made Disasters': Rahul Gandhi Attacks Centre Over Record GDP Nosedive, Rising Covid-19 Cases

Congress leader and former party president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday launched another attack on the Centre over record GDP reduction reports and unemployment plaguing the country. He also accused the Centre of not being able to control the rising cases of coronavirus in the country and of failing to address incidents of aggression on border.

Hitting out at the BJP-led central government, Gandhi took a jibe at finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s ‘Act of God’ comment and said the country has been reeling under what he termed as ‘Modi-made disasters’.

He also attacked the Centre over not paying the GST dues to the states and proposing to them to further borrow to meet the shortfalls in GST compensation.

Gandhi had also shared a video on Tuesday where he attacked the Centre over destroying the Indian economy by attacking the informal sector.

GDP data released on Monday showed India officially entering a phase of recession amid a collapse of 23.9 per cent of gross domestic product in the second quarter, as the economy was weighed down by the coronavirus pandemic and the severest of lockdowns that led to halt in business activities and a sharp fall in consumer demand.

The National Statistical Office (NSO) said GDP contraction in the April-June period of FY21 was the largest slump on record since India started reporting quarterly data in 1996.

Continuing restrictions on transport, educational institutions and restaurants – and weekly lockdowns in some states – have hit manufacturing, services and retail sales, while keeping millions of workers out of jobs.

Earlier, Congress leader P Chidambaram too criticised the Modi government over GDP nosedive, saying that the Centre paid no heed to earlier warnings and now the country is paying the price for it.