Congress cites ex-finance secy to question 7.8% GDP growth claim
Congress attacks the government's 7.8% Q1 GDP figure, citing former Finance Secretary Subhash Garg's claim that real growth is closer to 2.6%.
The Congress on Wednesday stepped up its attack on the government's handling of economic data, citing former Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg's remarks to question the credibility of the 7.8% GDP growth recorded for the April-June quarter.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh shared a video clip of Mr. Garg's interview in which he argued that a revision of the previous year's GDP by roughly ₹6 trillion had inflated the current year's first-quarter growth figure. Mr. Garg reportedly said that without this base-year revision, growth in current prices would have been around 2.6%.
Mr. Ramesh asserted that the government's claims of robust growth are contradicted by ground realities. He said that no amount of publicity can mask the true state of the economy, adding that the path to strength lies in accepting facts rather than embellishing numbers.
Congress media head Pawan Khera echoed these concerns, stating that Mr. Garg's assessment aligns with the lived experience of ordinary citizens facing rising prices and stagnant opportunities. He demanded a clear explanation from the government on why last year's figures were revised and what the actual growth rate is.
The ruling party has defended the numbers, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling the growth a "herculean feat." The government's data showed the economy expanded 7.8% in the first quarter of the fiscal year, a slowdown from the previous quarter's 8.6% but still above expectations given global uncertainties.
This is not the first instance of the opposition questioning official statistics. On Tuesday, the Congress described the GDP release as "statistical gymnastics" and argued that the figures present a distorted picture of investment sentiment and economic health.