New Delhi, Feb 6 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday cited two instances of previous Congress governments to shed light on the red-tapism and the counter-productive laws that prevented the economy from taking wings, as unlike under the NDA government when the economy was unshackled from decades-old clutches and restraints.
PM Modi’s references to two Congress veterans, including a learned former Finance Minister and a noted Parliamentarian are set to make the grand old party uncomfortable and invite harsh reactions.
PM Modi, replying to the Debate on Motion of Thanks to President’s address in Rajya Sabha, said that the economy during the Congress era was marked by despondency and gloom, and it suffered heavily because of the then government’s ‘licence permit raj’.
PM Modi further elaborated that Congress' own Finance Minister and a person of repute, an apparent reference to P. Chidambaram, had made a candid admission about the gloomy scenario and how every licence needed clearance from the ‘permit raj’.
Moments after PM’s speech in Rajya Sabha, a video of Chidambaram has also started circulating on social media where he is admitting on camera that ‘nothing moves without a bribe’.
“Every licence, every permit was procured by corrupt means,” he is heard saying in the undated and unverified video.
Further, shedding light on the then ‘scary’ situation, PM Modi said in Rajya Sabha: “Permission was needed for buying cement for building houses. For buying sugar during marriages, government permission was needed. For importing computers, a licence was needed, which in turn took years to get.”
PM Modi also recalled an incident linked to a Congress Parliamentarian, whose father, he claimed, had to wait for 15 years for buying a car.
“There is a Congress member in the House, whose father had to wait for 15 years to buy a car of his own, despite having money in his pockets,” PM Modi said without taking name, highlighting how the sluggish economy prevented even those in power to pursue their goals.
PM Modi’s reference to this Congress leader seems attributed to Jairam Ramesh, Congress RS MP and the party’s Communications in-charge.
A video circulating on social media shows Jairam Ramesh 'admitting' the same.
“Economic environment was not conducive to efficiency or profitability. It was a shortage economy. My father had to wait 15 years to buy a car,” he is heard saying in a 12-second undated video clip.
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