Mounting an all-out offensive against the Congress and the UPA government, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday that the previous regime was a “rudderless and leaderless” one and Sonia Gandhi acted as the “Super Prime Minister”. 

In her reply to the debate on the white paper – comparing the economy under the Congress-led UPA from 2004 to 2014 and the BJP-led NDA since then –  Ms Sitharaman also tore into Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over the 2013 incident when he ‘tore up’ an ordinance proposed by the Manmohan Singh government. The finance minister dubbed him arrogant and called his act an insult of “his own Prime Minister”.

After speaking on the scams that took place under the UPA government and stating that her government pulled out the Indian economy from the ‘Fragile Five’ category, the finance minister said the genesis of the problems and mismanagement during the previous government’s rule lay in the leadership issue. 

Speaking in Hindi, she said, “Leadership was at the heart of the problem. The rudderless, leaderless leadership was the focal point of the UPA’s mismanagement, its ghotala-driven (scam-driven) 10 years. Mrs Sonia Gandhi was the Super Prime Minister as the chairperson of the National Advisory Council (NAC) – an extra-constitutional and unaccountable person.”

Ms Sitharaman alleged that there was pressure on governance because Mrs Gandhi got extra-constitutional authority as the chairperson of the NAC, which was set up as an advisory board for the prime minister. She claimed that 710 files were sent to the NAC for “permission” by the government. “It was unaccountable, unanswerable power… why were 710 files sent to the NAC,” she asked.  

Taking on the opposition over its repeated allegations that the government does not respect institutions, the finance minister brought up the 2013 incident involving Rahul Gandhi. 

“Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was abroad. Rahul Gandhi tore up an ordinance and threw it at a press conference. Isn’t that insulting his own prime minister?  He was arrogant… did not care for his own prime minister. They now shout about institutions and lecture us,” she thundered. 

2013 Press Conference

After the Supreme Court had ruled in 2013 that MPs and MLAs convicted with a minimum two-year sentence would be immediately disqualified and would not get three months to appeal, like they did until then, the Manmohan Singh government had proposed an ordinance to overturn the judgment. 

Mr Gandhi had termed the ordinance “complete nonsense” and said at a press conference, “I personally think what the government is doing on the ordinance is wrong. It was a political decision, every party does it, and there is a time to stop this nonsense… If we actually want to stop corruption then we cannot make these compromises.”

He had said the ordinance should be “torn and thrown out” and then proceeded to tear a piece of paper in front of the cameras. 

‘Granary of Concoctions’

Speaking in the Lok Sabha earlier on Friday, the Congress’ leader in the House, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, called the government’s white paper a “granary of concoctions and a mountain of lies”, and said the document was nothing but an “electoral manifesto”.

“What is the use in abusing the family, Nehru, all of them on every issue? Please tell me…You abuse them in Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, everywhere. What is the objective? We need to introspect,” he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said his government could have brought a white paper on economy in 2014 itself when it came to power but he chose ‘rashtraneeti’ over ‘rajneeti’ as he did not want to shake the country’s confidence.

The document has been introduced in the last Parliament session before the general elections.

Prime Minister Modi-led government on Thursday brought a white paper tearing into Congress-led UPA rule and saying that it had turned the Indian economy into a non-performing one through indiscriminate revenue expenditure, off budget borrowings and pile of bad debts at banks.

Addressing the Times Groups’ ET NOW Global Business Summit, PM Modi said that in the decade before 2014, the policies on which the country was running was taking the country on the path of bankruptcy. “On this, we have tabled a white paper on the economy in Parliament,” he said.

“The discussion on it is ongoing. Since there is such a big audience, I would like to state my ‘Mann ki Baat’ also that the white paper that I have brought now, I could have brought in 2014. If my aim had been to derive political gain, then I would have kept those figures before the people 10 years ago,” PM Modi said.

“When things came before me in 2014, I was stunned. The economy was in a critical situation. Due to scams and policy paralysis, there was widespread pessimism among global investors. If I would have brought these things to light, if a wrong signal would have gone, probably the country would have lost its confidence in the country like when a patient gets to know that he has a serious disease, he panics, and the country would have felt like that,” the prime minister said.

PM Modi said that bringing the white paper in 2014 would have suited him politically.

“‘Rajniti’ tells me to do that but ‘Rashtraneeti’ does not allow me to do that and, therefore, I chose ‘rashtraneeti’ over ‘rajneeti’. And when the situation has become strong in 10 years and we can sustain any assault, then I thought I should tell the truth to the people and that is why I released white paper in Parliament,” he said.

“When you look at it, you will know where we were and from what situation we have risen and reached here. Now you are seeing the new height of development,” PM Modi said.

PM Modi said it is his guarantee that in his third term, India will become the world’s third largest economy.

Speaking at the summit, Times Group MD Vineet Jain said the last ten years have been transformative for India with its economy undergoing significant structural reforms, boosting its macroeconomic foundations.

“As we embark on ‘Amritkaal’, I want us all to envision a futuristic, inclusive, and prosperous society rooted in a human-centric approach. This will be our India.

The next two decades belong to India, where initiatives like Make in India, Create in India, Serve from India, and Start up India converge into a majestic narrative, transforming the nation into a knowledge, innovation, and manufacturing hub,” Mr Jain said.

“This vision aligns perfectly with the theme of this year’s ET Now Global Business Summit – Disruption, Development, Diversification – an intricate tale echoing your vision to craft India as the Vishwaguru. During this time of change, there is no better guide than you, prime minister, to set the course,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Amid the Election Commission of Pakistan drawing flak over the delay in declaration of the results of the general elections, former PM and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan on Saturday released a ‘victory speech’ in his AI-enabled voice, saying that the ‘London Plan’ of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif failed with the massive turnout of voters on polling day.

“My beloved countrymen. By turning out in such huge numbers and exercising your democratic right of franchise, you have laid the foundation for the restoration of the freedom to exercise citizens’ rights. I congratulate you all on helping us win the elections handsomely. I had full faith in your turning out in such large numbers to cast your ballots. You lived up to my trust and the massive turnout on election day surprised many. The ‘London Plan’ because of your active participation in the democratic exercise. Nawaz Sharif is a leader of low intelligence who gave a victory speech despite his party trailing in 30 seats,” the former PM and PTI founder said in an audio clip of his AI-enabled voice on social media platform X.

Expanding on his party’s claims of rigging and electoral malfeasance, Imran said, “No Pakistani will accept this (elecoral malpractice) and the international media has also reported extensively about it. As per the Form 45 data, we are on course to win more than 170 National Assembly seats. My fellow countrymen, you all have set a date for the restoration of democracy in Pakistan. We are winning the 2024 elections with a two-thirds majority. Everyone has seen the power of your vote. Now show your ability to preserve and protect it.”

قوم کی جانب سے انتخابات میں تاریخی مقابلے، جس کے نتیجے میں تحریک انصاف کو عام انتخابات 2024 میں بے مثال کامیابی میسرآئی،کے بعد چیئرمین عمران خان کا(مصنوعی ذہانت سے تیار کردہ) فاتحانہ خطاب pic.twitter.com/8yQqes4nO9

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) February 9, 2024

Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Shairf and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, co Chairman Asif Ali Zardari held a meeting in Lahore, Dawn News reported quoting sources.

The meeting came shortly after Nawaz claimed victory in general elections held a day earlier, and invited his allies to form a coalition government.

The PPP and PML-N were both part of the PDM government that took over from PTI after Imran Khan’s ouster from the prime minister’s office in 2022.

Meanwhile, according to the unofficial provisional results reported by Dawn News for 212 out of 266 seats, the independent candidates, mostly backed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) are leading with 82 seats.

On the other hand, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) which has emerged as the single largest party, is trailing with 64 seats, followed by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) at 40seats.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)