Nirmala Sitharaman Tables White Paper On ‘UPA Mess’ In Parliament.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today tabled ‘White Paper on Indian Economy’ in Lok Sabha highlighting economic mismanagement of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, during the Interim Budget presentation, had asserted that India’s economy faced a “crisis” in 2014 when the Modi government assumed office. She attributed this crisis to the “mismanagement” of the previous government and announced the forthcoming White Paper. The purpose of the document is to examine the economic trajectory from the Congress-led government’s tenure until 2014 and draw lessons from the alleged mismanagement during those years.
What is a White Paper?
A ‘white paper’ serves as an informative report highlighting government policies, achievements, and critical issues. In government protocols, colour-coded distribution is a norm. According to Stanford Law, the colour white is specifically designated for public access. This global concept aims to transparently communicate policies and engage citizens in the decision-making process.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, BJP MP Jayant Sinha, who is also the member of the Standing Committee on Finance, said that a white paper will be brought to the house.
“India’s GDP growth had slowed down to 5%, inflation had risen to 10%, The country was facing a balance of payment crisis. The baking system was in a crisis. Everyone was leaving the country and we were in the fragile economies in the world. This is the condition in which the UPA had left us,” he said in his remarks on the interim budget.
“In the white paper, we will clarify what was the position of the economy (before 2014) … and how we have tackled the economic problems.”
White Paper vs Black
Paper Earlier today, Congress released a black paper on the Narendra Modi government’s failures, highlighting economic, social and political injustices in the last ten years. The 54-page document, titled “10 Saal Anyay Kal”, released by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge at a press conference in the national capital, claims that the Modi government in its ten years in power has “devastated the country’s economy, aggravated unemployment, destroyed the country’s agricultural sector, abetted crimes against women and committed grave injustices against minorities in the country”.
“Today we are bringing out a ‘Black Paper’ against the government. Whenever PM Modi presents his views in Parliament, he hides his failures. At the same time, when we speak about the failures of the government, it is not given importance. Therefore, we want to bring out a Black Paper and tell the public about the failures of the government,” said Kharge.