BJP MP Subramanian Swamy has been unapologetic in openly deriding his party, lately. In what can be seen as a major allegation, the senior party leader alleged that the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) data on GDP should not be relied on, as it is mostly 'bogus'.
Speaking to a gathering of chartered accountants in Ahmedabad on Saturday, Swamy alleged that data on GDP from the CSO is 'bogus' and that Moody's and Flitch will publish any data if you 'pay them'.
“Please do not go by the quarterly (GDP) data; they are all bogus. I am telling you, because my father founded the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO)…. Recently, I went there with (Union) minister Sadananda Gowda…. He called the CSO person, because there was pressure to put out data on demonetisation. So they put out the (GDP) data (saying) that there is no impact (of demonetisation)," he was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
Contrary to what the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had been confidently asserting, Swamy admits that there was in fact, a negative impact of demonetisation on the economy which the CSO did not publish, under pressure from the Modi government.
"I am feeling nervous because I know there is an impact. So I asked the director of CSO, ‘how did you estimate the GDP for this quarter when the demonetisation was on November (2016) and you gave a printed economic survey report on February 1 (2017), which means it went for printing at least three weeks before. So on the first week of January (2017) you submit a report and you calculate GDP to show no impact. How did you calculate it?....So he tells me, that the informal sector’s output last year as a ratio of the formal sector’s output last year, that ratio was applied to the organised sector in January. I told him that relationship has changed. He said, ‘what will I do? I was under pressure to give the data and so I gave it’.
Swamy's comments and serious accusations comes barely weeks after Arun Jaitley sought to pacify the public over apprehensions of negative impact of demonetisation and GST on the country's economy.
The Finance Minister said it was a historic year for the finance ministry, citing sovereign rating upgrade by Moody's marked 2017. Moody's Investors Service upgraded India's local and foreign currency issuer ratings after a gap of 13 years.
The Finance Ministry had also said the second quarter GDP numbers show a "reversal of the deceleration trend". The GDP growth for July-September of 2017-18 was recorded at 6.3 per cent, a substantial increase from 5.7 percent in the first quarter. But Swamy begs to differ.
The BJP MP asked the audience only to believe in and rely on the annual GDP figures and specifically not on Moody's and Flitch, saying "You can pay them money and get any report published.”
Hard hitting remarks against his own party continued today after the BJP scored lesser votes than None of the Above (NOTA) in the RK Nagar by-polls.
Criticising the state BJP leadership for a poor show, Swamy tweeted, "TN BJP record: A national ruling party gets a quarter of NOTA's vote. Time for accountability".
