Been told I am the worst Finance Minister, Modi govt open to criticism, inputs: Nirmala Sitharaman

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Dec 02, 2019: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday (December 2) said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre is a government that pays equal attention to both criticism and inputs. Sitharaman said that when Union Home Minister Amit Shah responded to an industrialist about the economic condition, he spoke with a clear attitude that this government is open to hear criticism, Zee reported.

 

"We are a government that listens, whether it is criticism or an input. When Home Minister responded to an industry leader, it was with a clear attitude that we are willing to hear or take criticism," Sitharaman said in Lok Sabha during a discussion on the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019.

Sitharaman said that PM Modi listens to all the questions and criticisms and he has replied to all the questions in Parliament. Taking a dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Sitharaman said that those who claim that Modi government is ’suit-boot ki sarkar’ are completely wrong because those who are benefiting from Ujjawala Yojna, Ayushmaan Yojna and PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojna are not wearing ’suit-boot’ and they are not our brothers too.

Referring to PM Modi’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan under which 11 crore toilets have been built across the country in last five years, Sitharaman said that those who benefited from this scheme are not pur brother-in-laws. In a scathing attack on the Congress, Sitharaman said that the BJP is not a party which works for the benefit of brother-in-law (read Robert Vadra).

Sitharaman also slammed her critics for dubbing her the worst Finance Minister since independence and said that her detractors are not even waiting for the end of her tenure.

"I have been told that I am the worst Finance Minister, they’re not even waiting for me to finish my term. I told them that please give me more ideas, we will work on it. If there’s a government that listens, it is PM Modi’s govt," she said.

Sitharaman also trained guns at Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury for calling her ’Nirbala’ (weak) Sitharaman and said that those who are calling her names in Parliament are running away from Parliament after asking questions because it is in there DNA.

"I have been called names in Parliament. If it is in anyone’s DNA to ask questions & run away before answers are given, it is some other party and not our party. Each time we come to give replies instead of name-calling," she noted.

Earlier on Monday (December 2), Chowdhury had sparked a political row by saying in Lok Sabha that even though he respects Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, he thinks that she should be called ’Nirbala’ (weak) because she is unable to assert herself much on policies of the government.