Special Congress Party Briefing by Congress leaders P Chidambaram, Supriya Shrinate & Prof. Gourav Vallabh at the AICC Media Center, Udaipur. via INC India:

Over 400 Congress men and women have gathered in Udaipur to reflect on the state of the country. There are 60 members in our group. Yesterday 37 members expressed their views for 4 hrs. The discussions will continue today and tomorrow.

The state of the Indian economy is a cause of extreme concern. A slower rate of growth has been the hallmark of the present govt in the last 8 years. The post pandemic recovery has been indifferent and faulty.

The growth estimates for 2022-23 have been lowered from time to time in the last five months. Inflation has risen to unexpected levels and threatens to rise further. WPI inflation is at 14.55% and CPI inflation is at 7.79%.

The govt is actually fuelling the rise of inflation by its wrong policies – especially through high taxes on petrol and diesel, high GST rates, etc. The job situation has never been worse.

The labour force participation rate is at a historic low of 40.38% and unemployment rates stand at 7.83%.

We reiterate our charge that social services expenditure as a proportion of total expenditure has fallen to an average of 5% in the last 8 years, from an average of 9% in 10 years between 2004-14.

The external situation has added to the pressures on the economy. The govt appears clueless on the ways to deal with these developments.

$22bn have flowed out of the country in the last 12 months. The foreign exchange reserves have depleted by $36bn. The exchange rate stands still at Rs 77.58/USD – the highest ever.

A Congress led govt ushered in a new era of liberalisation in 1991. The country has reaped enormous benefits- wealth creation, new businesses, a huge middle class, billions of jobs, exports, and lifting 27cr people out of poverty during a 10 yr period.

After 30 years, it is felt that taking into account global and domestic developments, it is necessary to contemplate a reset of economic policies.

A reset of economic policies must also address the questions of rising inequality, extreme poverty among the bottom 10% of the population, India’s rank in the global hunger index 2021 which is 101 out of 116 countries.

A comprehensive review would also be justified by the health and educational outcome. We believe that the recalibration of economic policies can influence health and educational outcomes.

The time is ripe for a comprehensive revue of centre-state fiscal relations. The consequences of the poorly drafted and unfairly implemented GST laws brought in by the Modi government in 2017 are there for everyone to see.

The states’ fiscal position is fragile as never before and needs urgent remedial measures.

We believe that we must prepare the Indian economy and the Indian workforce to adapt to the ways in which industries, businesses, and trades will be conducted in the 21st century.

We also believe that important changes in economic policies will be required in light of climate change and the need for mitigation and adaptation.

All the reasons I have listed above lead us to believe that a reset of economic policies is necessary and the time is ripe for it.

I’m confident that our deliberations over three days and the decisions that have to be taken by the CWC in the days and weeks ahead will make a significant contribution on the nationwide debate on the economic policies.