INX case accused P Chidambaram took a jibe at Modi government for the dip in GDP as he came out of the Delhi high court as his custody was extended by two more days
Bengaluru: At an obvious jibe at the Narendra Modi-led Central government for GDP plummeting to 5% last quarter, ‘kingpin’ and accused in INX media case P Chidambaram, while leaving a court which he had been produced before in relation to his bail, using his hand gesture, said “"What is 5%? Do you remember 5%?" in relation to a reporter’s question on his CBI custody.
While Chidambaram was confident in his reply, another BJP senior and Rajya Sabha member Subramanian Swamy made fun of the accused, “Yes, he may say 5%, but it may mean economy or it may mean that commissions are collected at 5%, this is a well-known phrase. The economy is bad. That's what I am saying, but he can't justify it. The kind of things that UPA did, specially between 2009 and 2014, they are responsible for setting this into motion and we are responsible for not recognising it," as quoted by Republic TV.
Two days earlier, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh took a jibe at the incumbent government as the GDP nosedived. In a tweet put by the Indian National Congress, he had said, "India cannot afford to continue down this path. Therefore, I urge the government to put aside vendetta politics, and reach out to all sane voices and thinking minds, to steer our economy out of this man-made crisis."
While Manmohan Singh did not mince words over the alleged failure of demonetisation and GST, BJP hit back saying that demonetisation had increased tax collections by a whopping 80%.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced a slew of measures to tackle the dip in GDP. One of the solutions she has given is the merger of banks.
Meanwhile, Chidambaram has been remanded in custody for two more days by the Delhi high court
Read Exclusive COVID-19 Coronavirus News updates, at MyNation.