Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday took a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for what she called as making uninformed comment on the budget and said he should first implement what he preaches in states governed by his party. Following the presentation of Budget 2022-23 in Parliament, Gandhi dubbed it as a "zero-sum budget", saying it has nothing for the salaried, middle class, and the poor.
"That's not right. I wish as a leader of the oldest party, please understand what has been said. I pity people who come up with quick responses. Quick understanding response I am ready to answer but just because you want to put something on Twitter, it does not help," she said in an interaction with media. She lamented that the Congress-led UPA government had left the country as part of the fragile five.
In 2013, India was classified as among the 'fragile five' economies that heavily depended on foreign capital to finance growth. "Whatever he is preaching to us, he should go and implement in the Congress-ruled states," she said. She wondered if the employment situation in Punjab or Chhattisgarh was any better.
"Has he been able to stop suicides of cotton farmers in Maharashtra?," she wondered and said that before speaking he should do what he preaches. "I take criticism but not from somebody who has not done his homework," she added.
Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, who was also presented at the briefing, quipped that it is correct to assume that Rahul Gandhi could not understand the budget which will have far reaching implications.