Narendra Modi lashes out at critics over Indian economy slowdown

Says he won’t jeopardise India’s future and govt is committed to "reversing the trend"

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has strongly defended the economic measures his government has taken and bashed those  criticising his regime over the Indian economy's recent slowdown, Hindustan Times reported.

Modi's attack against those who criticised the government policy comes after the Indian economy saw the slowest expansion in three years during the past three months ending in June. The slowdown made many censure the economic policies including former finance minister Yashwant Sinha and former disinvestment minister Arun Shourie, both once leading lights of Modi’s own Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Modi, however, remains adamant and satisfied with the policies and went on to say in a latest talk that his government is “committed to reversing the trend” and will not jeopardise India’s future.

While lashing out at his critics, he said it was fine to criticise government policies but they should not spread negativity in such times.



Sanjeev Sanyal, principal economic adviser at the ministry of finance, shed light on the issue and said: “While the prime minister has acknowledged the slowdown in recent quarters, he pointed out that macro parameters such as current account deficit, foreign exchange reserve and inflation are in the best shape ever.”

“One must remember that difficult reforms have been introduced for long-term growth,” Sanyal added.

The Indian prime minister further defended his demonetisation policy saying that it was a necessary step taken to stop ‘the menace of black money’.

“People coming to mainstream (from the informal economy) fear that their old records may be reopened. We will not let that happen because earlier their old way of business was necessitated by prevailing circumstances. Nothing is more sinful than blocking those who want to come to the mainstream. Let bygones be bygones,” Modi said.

In his hour-long talk, the Indian prime minister emphasised how his government managed to get hard-won macroeconomic stability while also pointing out the data which shows the emergence of green shoots in Indian economy.

 

This article originally appeared on Hindustan Times.