TMC leader Mahua Moitra attacks Centre in LS, asks who's the 'Pappu' now?

Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra lashed at the Centre over several issues affecting the country and took a swipe at the BJP government indicting them of "extreme incompetence".

Speaking in the Lok Sabha, over the debate on demands for additional grants for 2022-23 on Tuesday, Mahua began her speech by accusing the Centre of making false claims.

"This government has us believe every February that this country's economy is going great guns. We are the fastest growing most efficient global player. Everyone is getting employment. We are getting gas cylinders, electricity and pucca houses. This falsehood flies for about 8 to 10 months and then the truth comes limping after it. And now we are in December and the government says it needs Rs 3.26 lakh crore of additional funds over and above the budget estimates," she said.

"The government and the ruling party coined the term Pappu to use it to denigrate to signify extreme incompetence. Let me point what the data and statistics tell us who the actual Paapu really is," she said and read out data on the economy.

"NSO numbers were out yesterday. Industrial output has chunked by 4 per cent in October to a 26-month low. The manufacturing sector contracted 5.6 per cent. Manufacturing is still the biggest generator of jobs. 17 of the industries sectors that make up the index of industrial production have recorded negative growth rates. Forex reserves have fallen by 72 billion dollars in under a year. The Honourable Finance Minister yesterday during question hour mentioned how apparently 50 per cent of FII inflows into emerging markets are coming into India. Wonderful. But her colleague, the Minister of State for External Affairs, just last Friday, in response to a question in this very House that almost 2,00,000 people -- 1,83,741 people -- renounced their Indian citizenship in the first ten months of 2022. This exodus of 2022 takes the total number of Indians renouncing Indian citizenship under this government in the past nine years, since 2014, to over 12.5 lakh people," she said.

Mahua said that this year has seen more people giving Indian Citizenship than any single year. High net worth individuals are willing to pay upto million dollars to get citizenship in other countries. "Is this the sign of a healthy economic environment? Of a healthy tax environment? Who's the pappu now?", she questioned.

The Winter Session of the Parliament began on December 7 and will have 17 working days.

(ANI)

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