Govt's white paper a political manifesto: Manish Tewari in LS

New Delhi [India], February 9 : Congress leader Manish Tewari, in his reply to the debate on the 'White Paper' in the Lok Sabha on Friday, highlighted the achievements of the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government and termed it as a 'political manifesto' of the ruling party.
"This is a political manifesto. This is not a white paper. During the UPA regime, we worked on the basics and we strengthened the economic, social and political base of the country. The first one is the Right to Information. We gave 130 crore Indians the right to be informed. Now, I am saying this with utter regret that the same was highly misused between 2014 and 2024," Tewari said in the Lower House.
The Congress MP further said that this is not a 'White Paper', this is a 'black wash'.
"This is not the white paper. This is a black wash. And the excitement of the honourable Finance Minister proves this. The history of India did not begin in 2014, rather it is a decades-old one," he said.
"The second one is MGNREGA. In 2005, we ensured 100-day work for people. I want to ask them why they did not increase the number of days. Rather, they kept criticising the law. The third is free education for children aged from 6 to 14 years. We reserved 25% of seats in schools for the Economic Weaker Sections, keeping aside caste and religion," Manish Tewari said.
Tewari further mentioned the National Food Security Act, implemented inn 2013, and said that through the act, more than 77 pc of the population was procured with free grains.
"The next one is Aadhar. By the time the UPA government was out of power, there had been more than 80 crores of Aadhar cards made. I want to ask them about their achievements in the past 10 years," Manish Tewari said.
"If you consider demonetization your achievement, I leave it to your wisdom. If you see the GST act as your achievement, which destroyed small industries, I leave it to your wisdom. I hope that the Finance Minister list out five of their achievements during the past 10 years," he added.
Highlighting the achievements of the Congress government, the MP further stated, "In 2004, when we assumed the reins of the government, the fiscal deficit was 5.4%. In 2007-08, it reduced to 2.8%. In 2003-04, the revenue deficit was 3.6%. In 2007-08, it reduced to 1.2%. In 2003-04, the savings-to-GDP ratio was 29.8% which stood at 34% in 2007-08."
"The investment-to-GDP ratio was 28.2% in 2003-04, which increased to 35.9% in 2006-07. During the BJP government during 1998-2004, the Minimum Support Price was merely increased by Rs 30. Between 2004 and 2008, the same rose by Rs 300," he added.
The Congress MP further said that in 2013-14, the saving-to-GDP ratio was 34%, which fell to 30% in 2022.
"The Private Financial Consumption Expenditure stood at 60% in 2013-14 and decreased to 56.9%. The investment-to-GDP ratio, which stood at 33.8% in 2013-14, fell to 20.20% in 2023. The gross capital formation, in 2013-14, was 33.8%. It decreased to 31.4% in 2023," he added.
Citing a report on the unemployment rate in the country, Manish Tiwari said, "The unemployment rate in 2013-14 was 4.9%, which stood at 8.9% in 2023."
The White Paper compares the alleged economic management during 10 years of the Congress-led UPA government with what the government says are the positive outcomes of 10 years of the BJP-ruled dispensation.
Amid the ongoing Budget Session of Parliament, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday presented a 'White Paper' on the state of the national economy during the UPA years in the Lok Sabha.
This is the last session of the current Lok Sabha before the general elections, which are likely to be held in April-May this year.
The Budget Session was scheduled to conclude on February 9 and has been extended by a day.