Union Finance Minister N Sithraman while discussing the White Paper in the Parliament compared the failures and success between 10 years of UPA AND 10 years of NDA government.
New Delhi: Union Finance Minister N Sitharaman on Friday stated that the UPA government could have handled the financial crisis of the 2008 with sincerity and transparency. She further emphasized that the global financial crisis of 2008 was not as serious as the COVID 19 pandemic.
This statement came ahead of the discussion on the 60-page long ‘White Paper’ in the Parliament, which compared economic management of 10 years of UPA government with the “positive outcomes” of past decade of the BJP-ruled dispensation.
UPA V/S NDA Government
The substitute motion under rule 342 of the rules of procedure and conduct of business was moved by Congress leader NK Premachandran and TMC leader Saugata Roy, stating that the House disapproves the contents of the White Paper.
During her address, FM Sitharaman said,”10 years of one government with some crises and 10 years of a different government with a different crisis, the comparison shown in this paper clearly says how if the government handles it with true sincerity, transparency and putting the nation first, the results are there for everybody to see.”
“Equally when you don’t put the nation first, when you put your first family first and when you have other considerations, then the results are there for you to see,” she added.
2008 Financial Crisis V/S COVID 19 Pandemic
Comparing the adversity of the COVID 19 pandemic with the Financial Crisis of 2008 she stated,”Two examples should be taken. The global financial crisis after 2008 wasn’t as serious as COVID-19. Still, I would want to say that it was a crisis and the government should have handled it with sincerity and transparency.”
She said during the global financial crisis, whatever should have been done to protect India’s interest, was not done.
“But even after that, scandals continued, leaving the country in such a critical state. God only knows, if the government had continued, what would have been the condition of this country today,” the Finance Minister said.
While the sloganeering continued from the Opposition Benches, Sitharaman, in a response to it, said, “This is a serious document, I am reiterating that it has serious topics. It must be taken seriously.”
Highlights From The White Paper
The White Paper alleged that the UPA government stopped the reforms and failed to build a strong foundation that was laid by the BJP- led NDA government. It further added that there were various scams in the defense sector which led to compromise in the defense preparedness and the government also delayed the acquisition of weapons.
The report mentioned that,”In the UPA government, decision-making came to a standstill due to corruption and scandals in defense, compromising defense preparedness. The government delayed the acquisition of artillery and anti-aircraft guns, fighters, submarines, night fighting gear and a host of equipment upgrades.”
The reports also emphasized on the ‘coal scam’ mentioning that the allocation of coal blocks was done on “arbitrary basis”.
“The coal scam shook the conscience of the nation in 2014. Before 2014, the allocation of coal blocks was done on an arbitrary basis without following a transparent process to allocate the blocks. The coal sector was excluded from competition and transparency and the sector lacked investments and efficiencies. These actions were scrutinized by investigation agencies, and in 2014, the Supreme Court of India cancelled the allocation of 204 coal mines/blocks allocated since 1993,” the paper said.
The paper further highlighted the 2G spectrum scam, coal gate scam and Common Wealth Games which reflected adversely on India’s image as investment zone.
(With inputs from agencies)