Opposition resorting to ‘disruptive politics’: BJP

The BJP on Friday took a swipe at the opposition, saying its leaders wear black clothes and want to paint the country black as the nation’s growth under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government makes them unhappy.

BJP spokesperson Syed Zafar Islam described the opposition as a ”third bottleneck” in the country’s economic growth, with the other two being the COVID-19 outbreak and the Ukraine war. Modi has dealt successfully with many challenges to boost India’s rise, he added.

The opposition parties have resorted to ”disruptive politics” as they know that there is no place for them in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, he said. Whatever they are doing in Parliament is due to their greed for power as they have no regard for people and the country, he alleged.

Opposition members had come to Parliament wearing black clothes on Thursday to mark their protest against the government over the Manipur issue. They have been insisting that Modi must make a statement in Parliament before a debate can start, a demand rejected by the government.

”They wear black. Their deeds are black and they want to paint the country black because its growth makes them unhappy,” Islam said.

Asserting that India’s macroeconomic parameters are robust with current account deficit hovering below 2 per cent against over 7 per cent under the erstwhile UPA government and average inflation nearly 2.5 per cent lower compared to the previous dispensation, he said Modi took big decisions, including some bitter ones, to set the economy on the right track.

”Those who wear black clothes may cover their eyes but they cannot cover the eyes of people. Global bodies have been writing about the strength of Indian economy at a time when China’s is weakening,” he said.

The size of Indian economy will grow to USD 5.5 trillion by 2027, overtaking Japan and Germany, to become the third largest, he said, claiming that at its current growth rate it will be among the top two economies by 2060. The projected growth rate for 2023-24 is 6.5-6.7 per cent, he noted.