Union Minister Smriti Irani on Tuesday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his remarks concerning the National Monetisation Pipeline and accused him of hypocrisy.
"Congress government in Maharashtra raised Rs 8,000 crores by monetising Mumbai-Pune expressway. Is Rahul Gandhi alleging that the Maharashtra government sold the expressway Does Rahul Gandhi believe that state governments doing such monetisation under Congress leadership are selling their states? There is a saying- This man's politics begin from hypocrisy, is sustained through arrogance, and ends with contempt," she said.
"If Rahul Gandhi has a problem with monetization then he needs to explain that Rs 8000 crores raised after monetizing Mumbai-Pune expressway under Cong, was his party selling country?... Is he alleging that his mother was selling the country...?" she asked.
Addressing the press conference earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi lashed out at the Centre's National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) terming it as a "huge tragedy".
He alleged the BJP-led government has mishandled the economy and the move was aimed at creating monopolies in certain sectors.
"What this country has built over the last 70 years is being given away. There is an excuse they have come up with that we are leasing these...The government clearly mishandled the economy and doesn't know what to do," he said.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday launched the asset monetisation pipeline of central ministries and public sector entities.
The pipeline has been developed by NITI Aayog, in consultation with infrastructure line ministries, based on the mandate for 'Asset Monetisation' under Union Budget 2021-22.
NMP estimates an aggregate monetisation potential of Rs 6 lakh crores through core assets of the central government, over a four-year period, from FY 2022 to FY 2025.
( With inputs from ANI )
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