New Delhi: The Central government will bring a white paper in Parliament on Thursday over the alleged “economic mismanagement” in the country during the 10-year (2004- 2014) rule of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA-II).
The White Paper will elaborate on India’s “economic misery” and its negative impacts on the economy during the UPA government.
The White Paper will also talk about the impact of positive steps that could have been taken by the then ruling UPA.
Speaking to the media outside parliament on the white paper, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said, “The white paper was part of the interim budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The economic situation that Congress put India through in 2014 needs to be mentioned. The subject of the white Paper will be in discussion today.”
A White Paper is a government document that is presented to highlight new policies and achievements, gain support, and gauge public reaction.
Sitharaman, during his interim budget speech on February 1, made reference to the white paper and stated that India was in a “crisis” in 2014 when the Modi government came to power and overcame the “crisis of those years” to put the economy on a sustainable growth path.
Meanwhile, the Congress released a “Black Paper” during the day as a counter to the white paper that the government is set to table in parliament.
Addressing a press conference, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said the Black Paper highlighted the failure of the government on unemployment, price rise, and distressing farmers.
He alleged that states like Kerala, Karnataka, and Telangana, ruled by non-BJP parties, were facing “discrimination”.
Accusing the BJP government of “finishing democracy,” Kharge said, “There is a danger to democracy in the country since the last 10 years. They toppled so many governments in which Congress was a partner.”
