Subramanian Swamy has endeared himself to netizens after calling out the Modi-government on the falling GDP growth rate.
Many have brought out reports of his 2015 prediction that the economy was headed for a tailspin. Others quoted his more recent opinion, made to Huffington Post India two days before the GDP data was released, that the real growth was around 1.5%.
For the uninitiated, the GDP growth rate fell to 4.5% in Q2FY20 -- a six year low according to the data released on Friday.
The former Harvard economics professor, who has been long ignored for the post of Finance Minister had predicted in 2015 that a ‘major crash was inevitable’. Now, in his recent interview Swamy slammed Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman saying that she ‘doesn’t know any economics’.
“Do you know what the real growth rate today is? They are saying that it is coming down to 4.8%. I’m saying it is 1.5%,” he was quoted as saying in the article.
Twitter seems to be pleased at this turn of events, with many lauding the BJP leader for his candid take on the economic condition.
Take a look at some of the tweets:
Now one of them says GDP is at 1.5% !!!
— Prithvi Reddy (@aapkaprithvi) December 1, 2019
Modi wants yes men, I am not one of them, what about you ?https://t.co/5QVzCCPkKe
Always a mystery to me why this Govt ignores @swamy39.The BJP base loves him, he has the ear of the RSS & he’s been consistently right about the economy over the last three years. Plus he is a Modi supporter of long-standing.
— vir sanghvi (@virsanghvi) November 30, 2019
But they just don’t listenhttps://t.co/bc6fMyG3QG
-@Swamy39 says GDP growth rate is a meagre 1.5% . He and I have debated and disagreed on a lot of things and will continue to do so . On this perhaps he is right -https://t.co/AGCpg0eAF2
— Manish Tewari (@ManishTewari) November 30, 2019
Coming from within the party, how much more sobering can this get ?
— Siddhartha Basu (@babubasu) November 30, 2019
Real growth is around 1.5%, Modi wants only Yes Men, not me: Subramanian Swamy before GDP figures were released https://t.co/TRrhb7tFKB
Maybe it’s time for PM @narendramodi to listen to his own party leader @Swamy39 if he doesn’t trust opposition’s leaders. I am not a economist, but any lay man can tell that our Madam Finance Minister is unable to handle Economy. #GDP ⬇️
— Sadhavi Khosla?? (@sadhavi) November 29, 2019
If actual GDP is 1.5% not 4.5% by @Swamy39 then Govt has to do some serious steps. All Economists have to come together from all political parties including #DrManmohanSingh.
— Murtaza I Bhagat (@MurtazaIBhagat) December 1, 2019
Now, we have 3 #GDP data:
— SocioPoliticalWatch (@SocioPoliticalW) December 1, 2019
1. 4.5%: Official figure.
2. 1.5%: @Swamy39
3. Now, 2.5%: Subramanian
Which one is right?
This utter confusion clearly indicates that economy is in a mess.
@PMOIndia @narendramodi
— Sankarankutty Raju (@sankarankuttyRa) December 1, 2019
India GDP Growth 6 Year Low, Not Looking good... right now our economy is in very Critical Situation. now Government saying agree we are not in recession, just only slowdown. first of all, try to here advise from a knowledgeable person like @Swamy39
Still time is there to control GDP crises. Handover FM to @Swamy39 ji. @narendramodi ji once give him chance and utilities his talent. It might help you to form BJP govt by 2024.
— Chakrapani Patil (@ChakrapaniPatil) November 29, 2019
Even as the dream of India becoming a 5 trillion dollar economy seems to be vanishing, government officials dismiss concerns. A day after the GDP growth rate data for the second quarter of FY20 was announced at 4.5%, PM Modi took to social media to laud the efforts of the NDA government in its first six months since re-election.
Home Minister Amit Shah added that the current economic slowdown was a "temporary phase" and said that the vision of a 5 trillion-dollar economy by 2024 still stands strong.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman echoed these sentiments. Marking six months of the Modi-led government's second term, she said that significant steps have been taken for structural reforms of the country.