Bhupesh Baghel takes dig at Centre on economy

New Delhi: Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel came down heavily on the Narendra Modi government over its ‘inability to handle the economy’. The senior Congress leader also mockingly invited Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to the state to learn the intricacies of running a successful economy.

“We are inviting her to Chhattisgarh to see how we successfully maintain a growing economy. Ours is now perhaps one of the only states that have continued to show growing economic indicators,” Mr Baghel said.

The Chhattisgarh chief minister claimed it was several people-friendly initiatives, including increasing MSP rates for paddy and procurement rates for tendu leaves, that had allowed for a strong economy of the state. “We have also written off about Rs 11,000 crore of loans to farmers and bought Rs 20,000 crore worth of paddy. This helped us ensure that the purchasing power of our farmers and residents increases,” the chief minister said.

“We buy tendu leaves from the tribal population at perhaps the highest rates in the country — Rs 4,000 per bag. The same is the case with paddy, which is being procured at Rs 2,500 per quintal. This has helped us ensure that funds were available and their purchasing power increased,” the chief minister added.

The Chhattisgarh chief minister pointed out that these steps had ensured that while the entire country was reeling under an economic slowdown, the state of Chhattisgarh remained an island of growth. “We can better illustrate with an example of the automobile sector. While the sector is facing 19 per cent negative growth in the country, it has witnessed 25 per cent growth in our state over the past year,” Mr Baghel said.

He said similar indicators could also be seen in the jewellery and construction sector.

“The state of the economy can only be corrected if we improve the purchasing power of the common man. This will fuel the industry and generate more jobs in the economy,” the chief minister added.  

The chief minister stated that Congress has also decided to launch an awareness campaign against the slowdown in the economy. “We will ensure that the country is made aware of the people-unfriendly policies of the Central government through this campaign,” Mr Baghel added.