Chidambaram on GDP: expected, matter of shame for Modi govt

With the economy contracting by 23.9% in the first quarter of 2020, former Union finance minister P Chidambaram termed the GDP numbers an “economic tragedy”. The Congress leader said the “country was paying a heavy price” for the “nonchalant and uncaring” attitude of the Modi government. He said the contraction means that about one quarter of the gross domestic output as on June 30, last year, has been wiped out in the last 12 months. He said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman who blamed an ‘Act of God’ for the economic decline should be grateful to the farmers and the gods who blessed the farmers. He said the GDP numbers should be a matter of shame to the government that did nothing — literally nothing.