Pune, Feb 23 (UNI) Taking an exception to Union Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal's attempt to put the blame on the previous UPA government for the international trade deficit with China, Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Gopal Tiwari on Sunday termed the allegations as 'baseless' and 'concocted'.
Talking to reporters here, he recalled that when Minister Goyal had come to Pune to attend the Asia Economic Dialogue (AED) conference and during a media interaction, he had tried to shift the blame on the Congress-led UPA government of 11 years ago for international trade deficit with China and once again, passed the blame on the Congress for the failure of the Narendra Modi government in the growth of industry and trade.
He claimed that Piyush Goyal invented a false idea that the Indian economy was faltering due to the "so-called secret agreement" made with China during the UPA period of 2004 to 2014 to hide the failure of the Modi government in the country's trade and industrial growth.
In fact, despite being in power for 11 years, what should be considered as an indication that the Modi government has not been able to expose any such 'secret agreement', the Congress leader pointed and said that it is reprehensible to make such childish allegations against the previous government to cover-up the failures of one's own party's government.
Making such 'false' and 'baseless' allegations against the Congress is not befitting of Piyush Goyal, who is sitting in a constitutional position as a Union Minister, he noted.
Moreover, the 'so-called secret agreement' of previous government to decide the import-export policy with China is not in the cards anywhere, he said.
Therefore, it would be in the interest of the country if Piyush Goyal pays more attention to the fact that the trade deficit with China has increased by 14 percent during the Modi government than during the UPA government, he retorted.
Exports have decreased during the Modi government than during the UPA period, he said and asked Goyal to hold a press conference and provide information on the 'fruits of Skill India, Startup India, Make in India'.
Citing the findings of the 'PMI' report, he said that the report clearly states that the 'India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, which measures production and industrial growth in India, has declined, and sales also have decreased.
The Modi government's introduction of the 'Product Link Incentive' (PLI) scheme to provide product-based incentives has benefited 'foreign telecom companies' rather than Indian entrepreneurs, claimed Tiwari.
The biggest reason for the widening India-China trade deficit is not the alleged secret agreement of the previous government, but the Indian government's failure to attract foreign manufacturers to its borders, he explained.
The important reason why foreign manufacturers who shifted their base from China to countries like Vietnam, Malaysia, Bangladesh, etc., instead of India is due to infrastructure, concessions and incentives offered by those countries, he emphasised and asked Piyush Goyal to reflect on why the manufacturers who have left China could not come to India.
Tiwari said that in fact, even after China swallowed 3,500 sq km of India's territory, the Prime Minister is giving them a certificate that they have not occupied any land, this is the misfortune of the country, he added.
UNI SP SS