#Politics | ‘There is no money in people’s pockets, there is a crisis of employment’: Congress on latest GDP figures

Taking to Twitter, senior Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram said, “As expected (except by the Government), GDP growth rate in Q2 has come down from 13.5 per cent to 6.3 per cent. I am afraid it may be lower in Q3. There are both external factors and internal factors that have pulled down the growth rate.”

Saying that the government is in “denial about the internal factors”, Chidambaram added: “The climate for investment is vitiated. The appetite for investment is poor. The ICOR (Incremental Capital-Output Ratio) has perhaps deteriorated. Given these factors, the chances of lifting the growth rate are low.”

In a Hindi tweet, the official account of the Congress said: “The slow pace of GDP means that there is less investment in the country, there is no money in people’s pockets, there is a crisis of employment.”

Quoting the figures, Supriya Shrinate, the party’s social media chairperson, said “Modi ji – find a solution, don’t turn away from the truth”. She added: “The sycophants that were “patting the backs after the first quarter, while we warned – where are they. Manufacturing shrinks – investment and jobs are in jeopardy.”

Saying that “Inflation, recession & an exodus of global investors has led to a massive economic crisis,” Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed said, “But PM Modi couldn’t care less about the economy when there are state elections to campaign for!”

Binoy Viswam, the secretary of the CPI national council said, “Boasting of robust economy is part of propaganda gimmick.NSO states GDP growth at 6.3 percent! Previous quarter it was 13.5!! Growth only on talks.”

The GDP data, although lower than expected, suggests the economy continues to recover post the adverse impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the agriculture and the services sectors posting a growth of over 4 per cent for the third straight quarter. The real GDP had jumped 13.5 per cent in the April-June quarter this year and 8.4 per cent in July-September 2021.

The gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 13.5 per cent in the April-June quarter this fiscal. The second quarter GDP growth is almost at par with the RBI’s projection of 6.1 per cent to 6.3 per cent released earlier this month in one of the articles published in its bulletin.

(With inputs from PTI)