Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said no “jamboree” could hide the country’s economic mess, taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled “Howdy, Modi!” event in the city of Houston in the United States on Sunday.
“Amazing what PM is ready to do for a stock market bump during his ‘Howdy Indian economy’ jamboree,” tweeted the former Congress president. “At more than Rs 1.4 lakh crore, the Houston event is the world’s most expensive event, ever! But, no event can hide the reality of the economic mess “Howdy Modi” has driven India into.”
Modi is scheduled to address the Indian diaspora at the event, which will be hosted by Houston-based non-profit organisation Texas India Forum. So far, more than 50,000 Indian-Americans have registered their names. United States President Donald Trump and other American politicians are expected to be in attendance. This will be the first time an American president will address thousands of Indian-Americans at one place in the US.
Gandhi’s tweet came hours after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a reduction in corporate tax rates for domestic companies in a bid to boost economic growth. The Centre will forgo revenue of Rs 1.45 lakh crore per year as a result, the finance minister added. The announcements boosted the Indian share market. Both the BSE Sensex and National Stock Exchange Nifty 50 closed over 5% higher.
The Congress party, in a tweet, also reminded the prime minister that it was the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government that had announced 30% corporate tax rate in the Union Budget. “Your 2019 budget increased corporate tax to 30% despite many objections,” said the Opposition party. “Today after yet another U-Turn by the FM, you pat yourself on the back and call the move historic. The only thing historic is a government that refuses to accept responsibility for destroying a thriving economy.”
Earlier in the day, Modi hailed the measure as historic and listed how it would help the economy.
The country’s economic growth rate had dipped to 5% in the April-June quarter, the lowest in over six years. Core sectors, including automobiles and manufacturing, have witnessed a progressive slowdown in growth in the last few months due to weak consumer demand and dearth of investments.
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