Senior Congress leader and former Union minister Jairam Ramesh on Saturday said the BJP was bringing the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to divert people’s attention from the economic crisis.

“The sixth consecutive quarter of GDP growth is falling… lowest quarterly GDP growth since January-March 2013. The manufacturing sector has contracted. What will it take for our government to acknowledge this crisis? The slowdown is real and deep. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah are bringing the NRC and the bill to divert people’s attention from the economic crisis,” Ramesh said here at a news conference.

According to official data released on Friday, India’s economic growth has slipped to 4.5 per cent in July-September quarter, its weakest pace since 2013. The previous low was recorded at 4.3 per cent in January-March quarter of 2012-13. The GDP growth was registered at seven per cent in the corresponding quarter of 2018-19.

Ramesh said: “What is the net impact of demonetisation and hasty implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST)? It led to a slowdown of our economic growth. Modi claimed everything is okay, but the economy is in real crisis. There is no investment, unemployment is increasing and development index is decreasing. Two basic reasons of the economic slowdown are demonetisation and hasty implementation of the GST,” Ramesh said.

“When the government should focus on economy and employment, they are selling public institutions. Industry is being closed down, people are tense, agriculture is in distress, but the government is busy with the NRC and the CAB,” Ramesh said.

He added the Supreme Court-monitored NRC had been implemented under the BJP governments both in the state and at the Centre. “It is disappointing that an FIR has been filed against Assam NRC coordinator Prateek Hajela on corruption charges. The BJP, which was advertising about the success of the NRC, is now rejecting the same NRC and doubting the same persons who looked after it as the results are uncomfortable to the party,” Ramesh said.

He assured that the Congress would oppose the bill as it is “anti-Constitution” and would not be accepted under any circumstances.

“The bill violates the Article 14 and Article 21 of the Constitution. Congress will play a lead role against the bill and will ask like-minded parties to oppose it,” he said.

Ramesh added: “The bill and the NRC are two masalas to keep the pot boiling. In the next 12 months, the economy will go down further and these two issues will steal the limelight.”