UPA exploited economic growth for narrow political purposes: White Paper

NEW DELHI,  (IANS): The UPA government failed miserably to facilitate economic activities. Instead, it created hurdles that held back the economy, said the White Paper on Indian Economy tabled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

The UPA government 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, it said.

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, the White Paper said.

“They 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," it said.

The UPA government also demonstrated that it is easier to hurt the economy than it is to help it, the paper said.

“They inherited a healthy economy and bequeathed an enfeebled one to us. We have restored its vitality. In sum, the progress achieved in the ten years of our government has overcome the malaise and paralysis of the previous ten years of the UPA government. In 2024, confidence and purpose have replaced the diffidence and drift of 2014," it said.