Nirmala Sitharaman in Lok Sabha: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday (09 February) launched a sharp attack on the Congress over economic mismanagement, corruption and scams and alleged that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government was an agitator and corruption-prone government. Which gave birth to Jubilee Tax in the country.
While replying to the Lok Sabha discussion on the White Paper on the Indian economy and its impact on the country’s citizens, he also claimed that Sonia Gandhi was a super prime minister in the UPA government and the National Advisory Council (NAC) headed by her was worse than a kitchen cabinet. Which was making laws as an unconstitutional institution. The Finance Minister accused the UPA government of playing with national security and said that there was a lack of leadership at that time.
‘Many evidences of the allegations made in the white paper’
He said that the white paper is a serious document which has documentary evidence. He said that the government’s effort has been to correct the 10 years of mismanagement of the UPA government and to take the economy forward in such a way that it grows strongly. The Finance Minister said that no baseless allegations have been made in this document and the CAG report and the observations of the Supreme Court have been quoted in it. He said, “Everything said in this white paper is with evidence.”
Sitharaman said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given a statement in an interview to the media in 2015-16 itself that such suggestions are coming that a white paper should be brought on the condition of the economy, but I am not bringing it in the national interest. According to the Finance Minister, the Prime Minister did not bring the white paper at that time because the confidence of investors could have been shaken.
‘Scam every year in UPA government’
He said that large-scale scams took place in the 10 years of UPA and the situation was such that every year a big scam came to light. The Finance Minister said, “After 10 years of efforts to reform the economy, today we have become the fifth largest economy from Fragile 5.” Will soon become the third largest economy.
He claimed that under the UPA government, the army was suffering from shortage of ammunition and other military equipment. Accusing the UPA government of playing with national security, Sitharaman said that the then Defense Minister AK Antony had said that roads would not be constructed in the border areas.
According to him, Antony had then said that there is no money for big projects and wait till April 1 (next financial year). The Finance Minister alleged that there were scams in defense projects during the time of the UPA government. Referring to the AgustaWestland case, he said that the CAG had pulled up the government for the delay in the purchase of guns. “The defense budget has doubled in the last 10 years,” he said.
Enumerated the achievements of Modi government in defense sector
According to Sitharaman, investment in building infrastructure on the border has been increased. He mentioned the achievements of the Modi government in the defense sector and said, “It is a matter of pride that INS Vikrant, Tejas, Arjun, Dhanush are all being manufactured in India. Today women are flying planes and are also standing at the border with guns. Sitharaman said that this government has given an order worth Rs 4 lakh crore to HAL.
He said that defense exports worth Rs 16 thousand crores are being made from the country. Taking aim at Congress, she said, “I want to ask that some MoUs were signed with China in 2008, why have they not been disclosed till now?” The Finance Minister said that Congress should give an explanation in this regard. Referring to the Jayanti Tax, he said that in the UPA government, there was a delay of more than a year for environmental clearance and still the approval was not given.
According to Sitharaman, “Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi had said in a press conference on January 31, 2015 that the business world has full understanding about the Jubilee Tax. This is the scam of their environment clearance.” He claimed that the government of agitators and corrupt leaders gave birth to Jayanti Tax. Sitharaman said that Jayanti tax was a kind of Jizya.
‘Sonia Gandhi was super prime minister’
The Finance Minister said that the Modi government is moving forward by striking a balance between progress and nature. He said that in this government the average time for environmental clearance is 70 days, whereas earlier it was 365 days. According to him, the core of UPA’s 10 years of ‘mismanagement and scams’ is the leadership problem. She claimed, “Sonia Gandhi ji, as the head of the NAC (National Advisory Council), was the super prime minister at that time.” Sitharaman alleged that corruption is in the ‘DNA’ of the Congress.
He questioned why 710 government files were sent to NAC? The Finance Minister said that when Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister and was on a foreign tour, the Congress leader (Rahul Gandhi) had torn and thrown away an ordinance brought by the government. “These people are lecturing on institutions,” he said. When the Prime Minister was insulted, why was it not asked at that time?
Mentioned about ED action
Sitharaman said that NAC was an unconstitutional entity. He said, “During the Congress-led UPA government, NAC and agitators were making laws, it was acceptable to the opposition, why can’t the elected government bring a white paper today?” The Finance Minister said that this government had introduced Aadhaar verified direct transfer. Due to this, Rs 2.7 lakh crore has been saved.
Sitharaman said that in the UPA government, the process of prosecution under PMLA was completed in 102 cases, whereas in this government this process was completed in 1200 cases. He said that in the UPA government there was no conviction against anyone in ED cases, whereas in this government there was conviction in 58 cases. After Sitharaman’s reply, the House rejected by voice vote the substitute motions moved by RSP’s NK Premachandran and Trinamool Congress’ Saugata Roy in opposition to the government’s white paper.
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