FM Nirmala Sitharaman targets Rahul Gandhi, says India's growth story belies Opposition's doom predictions

ANIBengaluru: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday accused Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi of undermining India’s achievements under the guise of attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying his repeated predictions of economic distress had been proven wrong by the country’s sustained growth.Sitharaman said Gandhi had repeatedly claimed that India was headed for a crisis, whereas the country had emerged as the world’s fastest-growing major economy, while addressing party workers at the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Samavesh at the BJP headquarters in Bengaluru,“Every time the Leader of Opposition speaks in the Lok Sabha, it is only to decry everything and undermine the achievements of the people of India, believing that he is undermining Prime Minister Modi,” she said.Sitharaman, who represents Karnataka in the Rajya Sabha, said India had consistently recorded GDP growth quarter after quarter and year after year. The assessment was not merely that of the government, she said, but was backed by data released periodically by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).Oil supply challengesThe finance minister said Gandhi had overlooked the Centre’s efforts to ensure uninterrupted supplies of crude oil and LPG despite risks arising from conflicts in the Middle East.She said the government had managed multiple challenges, including arranging ships, containers, crew, logistics and insurance, amid rising costs and heightened risks to maritime transport. Insurance premiums had increased sharply because of the conflict, while insurers were reluctant to cover vessels operating in high-risk zones.Even after overcoming these hurdles, there was no certainty that vessels carrying oil for India would reach their intended destinations, as suppliers could divert shipments to markets willing to pay higher prices, the finance minister added.Digital InitiativesHighlighting the government’s welfare and digital inclusion initiatives, Sitharaman said the JAM trinity — Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile — had brought citizens closer to government services.She said more than 58 crore Jan Dhan accounts, 144 crore Aadhaar identities and 125 crore mobile connections had strengthened financial inclusion, while the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) was processing over 2,100 crore transactions every month.The e-Shram portal has registered more than 31 crore workers, while over 57 crore loans have been sanctioned under the PM Mudra scheme, with 66% of beneficiaries being women, Sitharaman said.“Technology, formalisation and access to credit are opening up opportunities for Indians.”The minister also highlighted welfare programmes, stating that more than 12 crore household toilets, 15.85 crore rural tap-water connections, 10.5 crore Ujjwala LPG connections and free foodgrain support for about 81 crore citizens reflected the scale of welfare delivery across the country.(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)Read More News onIndia growth storyNirmala SitharamanGDP growthRahul GandhiBJPUPI transactionsBJP headquarters (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)Read More News onIndia growth storyNirmala SitharamanGDP growthRahul GandhiBJPUPI transactionsBJP headquarters