'Rebuilding economy tough after UPA rule'

Countering the Congress’ attack on Modi’s promises, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said it will be a tough challenge for the NDA to fix the economy due to the UPA's mismanagement.  

Intervening during debate in the Rajya Sabha over the Motion of Thanks on the Presidential address, Jaitley said the NDA has come to power riding on “high expectations” of the people, which has put more pressure on the government to perform.

He sharply reacted to Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad’s remark that in Presidential address, the government had just copied the flagship programmes of the previous dispensation. The Congress leader had claimed that 90 per cent of the policies had been already been implemented.

Jaitley dismissed the allegation, stating, “We stand today in a challenging situation. The UPA inherited a 8.57 per cent growth rate. It is leaving behind a growth rate of sub-5 per cent for two consecutive years. Fiscal deficit is abnormally high at 4.5 per cent. Inflation in April is at a high of 8.9 per cent. 

“We have seen a decade of jobless growth. Investors had stopped looking at us. Investment cycles—both domestic and international—have been broken,” he added.