New Delhi, February 18 (HS): The Congress has attacked the current central government of being directionless and short-sighted. The party says that the bad policies of the government have ruined the country's economy.

Congress National President and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said in a statement here today that nothing could be more ironic than Modi government's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman saying that our economy is giving good returns. He said that so far in the year 2025, ₹ 45 lakh crore has been wiped out from the Indian stock markets. Nifty 50 firms have shown the worst quarterly profit growth in 5 years.

He said that foreign investors have sold shares worth more than ₹ 1.56 lakh crore since October last year, including about ₹ 1 lakh crore in 2025 itself. Due to this, the wealth of small and medium investors has been eroded. Rupee being at 87 against the dollar means the trade deficit is skyrocketing. Imports have increased by 62.21% in the last 5 years.

Targetting the Modi government's trade policy, Kharge has termed it disastrous for the country. He claimed that the country's export growth was 549.36 per cent during the UPA regime (2004-14), which has come down to 24.72% (till April-November 2024) during the Modi government (2014-24). The Modi government has waived corporate tax revenues worth ₹10 lakh crore in the last 10 years in the hope that they will create jobs but 8 out of 9 companies that benefited from the cut in corporate taxes have reduced jobs.

Congress President Kharge said,India is heading towards a global tariff war. Our manufacturing sector is sinking. Make in India and PLI schemes have failed. There is no solution to youth unemployment. Price rise is eating away at savings. Consumption is falling, there is no relief from the budget. Rural wages have seen zero growth. Overall, the rupee has fallen by 43% in the last 10 years. Forced purchase of oil and gas will burden our import bill.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar