BENGALURU: Former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha on Wednesday accused the BJP-led NDA government of “cooking up statistics and figures to hide a grim reality about the economy and country’s growth rate.”
“Untruth prevails and there is no honest assessment of what is happening to the country’s economy,’’ he said at a programme organised to mark the 92nd birth anniversary of former Karnataka CM Ramakrishna Hegde at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan here.
Sinha, a former BJP leader, said “politicisation of data” was a dangerous trend. He recollected how the recommendation of Statistical Commission of India’s committee on calculating country’s GDP (gross domestic product) was suddenly removed from the website. Earlier, the Labour Ministry estimated the creation of new jobs with the help of its quarterly survey of households. Now, the data generated by the Employee Provident Fund Organisation is being highlighted. “If data is politicised, whom do we believe?’’ he asked.
Calling demonetisation as a step taken by a “monarch”, he said the note ban and GST were the bigger blows to the economy in quick succession.
Revenue and Skill Development Minister R V Deshpande said Ramakrishna Hegde would have become the country’s PM if he had compromised on certain issues. However, he chose not to elaborate on the issues. He described Hegde as a visionary, a democrat, and a perfect host who did not indulge in politicking round-the-clock.
Forensic audit should be conducted for Rafale deal
Bengaluru: Stating that a probe by a Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Rafale deal will make little headway, former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha reiterated that a forensic audit should be conducted by Comptroller and Auditor General to establish the ‘criminal intent or negligence’ in the deal. By kicking out Hindustan Aeronautics Limited completely from the deal, PM Narendra Modi has reduced ‘Make in India’ to a mere slogan, he said here on Wednesday.