Centre, Opposition lock horns over White Paper, accuse each other of mismanaging economy

New Delhi [India], February 8 : A war of words has erupted between the ruling NDA government and the Opposition over the White Paper tabled in the Lok Sabha scrutinizing the economic performance during the UPA government's 10-year tenure (2004-2014).
The Budget Session of Parliament was extended by a day until February 10 to discuss the White paper. Originally scheduled to conclude on February 9, the session was extended by an additional day.
The government on Thursday presented a white paper that accused the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance of leaving the economy in "bad shape" after 10 years of the Manmohan Singh government.
It compares the economic management during 10 years of the UPA government with that of 10 years of the BJP-led government.
The document claimed the UPA inherited a "healthy economy" from the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government but left the Narendra Modi administration a "non-performing" economy.
In scathing criticism of the UPA government's management of the economy, the document said the UPA government failed miserably to facilitate economic activities.
"Instead the UPA Government created hurdles that held back the economy. It basked in the after glory of the lagged effects of the reforms of the Vajpayee-led NDA government and benign global conditions and proceeded to exploit the resultant fast economic growth for narrow political purposes without much concern for long-term economic consequences. The result was a mountain of bad loans, a high fiscal deficit despite much of it being hidden, a high current account deficit, double-digit inflation for five years which hit the pockets of many Indians and membership of the club of "Fragile Five" in 2013," it said.
The document went on to say, "They (UPA) not only failed to impart dynamism into the economy but also robbed the economy of it such that our industrialists went on record stating that they would rather invest abroad than in India. To drive investors away is easy but to win them back is hard. The UPA government also demonstrated that it is easier to hurt the economy than it is to help it. They inherited a healthy economy and bequeathed an enfeebled one to us. We have restored its vitality."
It further said that the decade of the Congress-led UPA government was a lost decade, there was a crisis of leadership and the period was marked by "policy misadventures and scams".
The nearly 60-page White Paper says that the banking crisis was one of the most important and infamous legacies of the UPA government.
The White Paper said that the UPA government abandoned reforms after coming to power in 2004 and that it failed to build on the strong foundation laid by the previous BJP-led NDA government.
It said the economy grew fast between 2004 and 2008 largely due to the "lagged effects" of the reforms of the NDA government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
"The UPA leadership, which seldom fails to take credit for the 1991 reforms, abandoned them after coming to power in 2004. Even as the country was standing at the cusp of emerging as a powerful economy, little was done by the UPA government to build upon the strong foundation laid by the previous NDA government....
"In the years between 2004 and 2008, the economy grew fast, thanks to the lagged effects of the reforms of the NDA government and favourable global conditions. The UPA government took credit for the high growth but did little to consolidate it. The failure to take advantage of the years of high growth to strengthen the budget position of the government and invest in infrastructure to boost future growth prospects stood exposed," the White Paper said.
The paper further slammed "lack of leadership" in the UPA regime that "came out in full public glare, in shameful public tearing-up of an ordinance".
"There was a crisis of leadership in the UPA government. It came out in full public glare in the shameful public tearing up of an ordinance issued by the government," it said.
The reference was to 2013, when Congress MP Rahul Gandhi tore up a piece of paper to signal his rejection of an ordinance - passed by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh-overturning a rule that disqualified convicted MPs and MLAs. The Congress eventually scrapped the ordinance.
The Opposition has criticized the document with Congress MP Pramod Tiwari saying that it was put out by the Central government 'in order to hide their own black (deeds)'.
Speaking to ANI, Tiwari said the White Paper criticising the UPA government was tabled soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised former PM Manmohan Singh as 'the biggest economist'.

"This isn't 'white paper' but to hide their own black (deeds) they have brought this. PM Modi himself praised the former PM Manmohan Singh as 'the biggest economist' but his own government is then criticising him (Manmohan Singh)," Pramod Tiwari said.
He also took a swipe at the Centre saying it should look back at certain things like the value of the rupee in 2014 in comparison to the dollar.
"What was the value of the Rupee in comparison to the Dollar in 2014? What was the percentage of inflation? What was the status of unemployment that now stands at the highest in the last 40 years? How much farmers were getting for their produce? If everything is done in these 10 years then how come the previous 10 years stand better than these?" he said, adding that the UPA government was running on 'realities'
"But now the government is running on all 'jumlaa'" he added.
Notably, PM Modi while bidding farewell to the retiring members in Rajya Sabha on Thursday lauded the "immense contribution" of his predecessor Manmohan Singh.
"I wish to remember Dr Manmohan Singh today, his contribution in the House, with his invaluable thoughts, both as a leader and in the opposition has been immense. For such a long time, the way he has guided this House and country, Dr Manmohan Singh will always be remembered for it," PM Modi said during his speech in the upper house.
Reacting to the 'White Paper', CPI MP Binoy Viswam claimed that data and figures on the paper were a gimmick with numbers.
"I haven't seen the document yet...But I can presume that this White Paper is only white in name. All the data and figures it might have reflected is a gimmick with the numbers. Everybody knows that the management of finance by the NDA Government was bad. It was supporting Nirav Modis and Mehul Choksis. They never tried to get back the money from foreign banks. Looters who cheated the banks and the people are still safe. The BJP Govt is silent on such matters. If such a Government talks about a 'White Paper', how can the country believe that?" Binoy Viswam said.
Samajwadi Party (SP) ST Hasan claimed that it was going into history to hide its own 'incompetence'.
"Step by step, the situation kept improving. Why are they going into history to hide their incompetence? The world is moving forward but you are used to going centuries behind... The world is reaching the sun today and you are still 500-1,000 years behind," Hasan told ANI.
However, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari said that even a single sentence of the 'White Paper' is not false and the people of the country have the right to read it. "The Opposition used to raise tens of questions... To clarify all doubts, the Modi government brought the facts to the floor... Now everything is in the front... Everything is out in the open for evaluation... Not even a single sentence of the 'White Paper' is false and the people of the country have the right to read it..."
Independent Amravati MP Navneet Rana said, "No matter how much the Opposition denies it, our economy was at the 11th position in 2014 and today, we are in the 5th position... The economy has improved and no one can deny that. The lies of the Congress would be out after this..."
Meanwhile, the Congress party has released a 'Black Paper' highlighting the Narendra Modi government's decade-long governance to counter the Centre's White Paper.
Congress President and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, presented the 'Black Paper' today, before the release of the government's White Paper.
Addressing a press briefing, Kharge said the "Black Paper" highlights "failures" of the government on unemployment, price rise, and farmers' distress.
"We are raising the main issue of unemployment, which the BJP never talks about," he said.
"The government will never say how many people got jobs. They are not releasing MGNREGA funds. They are discriminating against states," Kharge said.
Countering the Centre's attack on Congress ideologues Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, he said, "They (the government) compare inflation data to the time of Jawahar Lal Nehru and Indira Gandhi...you are ruling today, what steps have you taken to curb the inflation are important."