FINANCE Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday lambasted the previous Congress-led UPA Government for its mismanagement of the economy saying the party put “family first” and left the country in “dire straits” in 2014, but it is now lecturing the Modi Government on handling the economy. Initiating the debate on the ‘White Paper on Indian economy and its impact on the lives of people of India’ in the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman said the Modi Government put “nation-first”, and took the economy from ‘fragile five’ to ‘top five’. India is now on the way to become the third largest global economy, she said. Amid constant bickering by the Congress members, Sitharaman said the White Paper is for record of posterity and the youth should know what efforts Prime Minister Narendra Modi has put in to restore India’s past glory. “Ten years of one Government with some crisis and 10 years of a different Government with a different crisis.

 

The comparison shown in this ‘White Paper’ clearly says how if the Government handles it with true sincerity, transparency and putting the nation first, the results are there for everybody to see,” Sitharaman said. She also said, “When you don’t put the nation first, when you put your first family first, and when you have other consideration than transparency, the results are out there for you to see. So what happened after 2008 when there was a global financial crisis and what happened post-COVID shows clearly that if the intent of the Government is sincere, results will be good.”