BJP slams Raghuram Rajan’s predictions showing later economic growth
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New Delhi: Projecting the Indian economy’s growth, which is said to be at 7.2 per cent during the fiscal year 2022-23 as per the recent government data, the BJP slammed the former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan for his bleak predictions regarding India's economic performance.
During a conversation held in December 2022, which coincided with Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra, Raghuram Rajan expressed his concerns about the challenges the Indian economy and the global economy would face in the upcoming year. Rajan had forewarned that India might struggle to achieve a growth rate of 5 per cent due to increasing key interest rates and a slowdown in exports.
Reacting to Rajan's predictions, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla took a dig at the former RBI Governor, referring to him as 'James Bond Rajan' and criticizing what he termed as "voodoo economics" propagated by celebrity economists with political motives. Poonawalla claimed that such predictions by individuals masquerading as economic experts have their limitations.
BJP's IT cell head, Amit Malviya, also entered the fray, labelling Congress members who defended Rajan as "filth-seeking flies." He accused them of consistently searching for faults and discrediting positive developments in the Indian economy. Malviya further claimed that these critics seemed to derive pleasure from the notion of a struggling nation while luxuriating in their own privileged lifestyles.
The government data that showed impressive growth during 2022-23 fiscal triggered a political debate over India’s economy, the BJP claiming the economic policies of the Centre government fuelled the impressive growth, while critics argued that isolated figures do not paint a complete picture and that underlying issues must also be addressed to ensure sustainable economic progress.
It remains to be seen how the economy will fare in the following fiscal year, and whether the growth momentum can be maintained. The Union government t is expected to implement targeted policies to sustain and further stimulate economic growth while addressing pertinent challenges in various sectors.
As the country grapples with ongoing economic debates, experts and policymakers will need to reconcile differing viewpoints to chart a course for a stable and prosperous future.
