Congress leader and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday took a dig at the BJP-led central government, accusing them of favouring crony businesses over fair play, which he believes is weakening the economy, as evidenced by several economic indicators.
Gandhi pointed to weakening data from the manufacturing sector, record-high trade deficits, high interest rates, declining consumption, and soaring inflation.
Taking to his official handle on X, he raised concerns about the impact of the Centre’s policies, stating, “What happens when a government prioritises crony businesses over play-fair businesses? Result: Weakened manufacturing sector, depreciating currency, record high trade deficits, high interest rates, falling consumption, and soaring inflation.”
He further hit out at the government’s economic growth slowdown, referencing the disappointing second-quarter GDP growth, which was only 5.4 percent for FY2024-25, far below expectations.
Gandhi argued that the Indian economy cannot move forward when only a few billionaires benefit while the farmers, labourers, middle class, and the poor are left grappling with economic hardships.
On the economic front, the latest commerce ministry data revealed that India’s merchandise trade deficit in November reached USD 37.84 billion, marking the highest monthly deficit so far.
This widening gap is attributed to a sharp increase in imports relative to exports. November’s exports stood at USD 32.11 billion, while imports surged to USD 69.95 billion, leaving the trade deficit at an alarming USD 37.84 billion.
So far in 2024-25, the deficit has expanded from USD 66.91 billion to USD 82.95 billion. Meanwhile, despite a decline in merchandise exports from USD 451.1 billion to USD 437.1 billion, India’s total exports reached a record USD 778 billion in FY2023-24, driven by a rise in services exports, which grew from USD 325.3 billion to USD 341.1 billion. The overall trade deficit, however, improved from USD 121.6 billion in 2022-23 to USD 75.6 billion in 2023-24.