NEW DELHI: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday hit out at leader of the opposition, Rahul Gandhi, and dismissed charges of ‘crony capitalism’. On X, she listed out multiple welfare schemes and policies of the Modi govt and underlined that farmers, the poor, women, youth, and MSMEs are “at the core” of the governance structure. “We are focused on the welfare of common people,” she said in a social media post. She asserted that since 2014, Modi govt has served every sector and every section of society through its “policies and initiatives”. Earlier in the day, Rahul had said an economic storm is coming and “Ambani-Adani structure that govt built will come crumbling down”. “It’s sad that common people will have to suffer,” he alleged. Countering the charge, Sitharaman said: “If Congress and its netas cannot contribute positively to nation building, they should stop being obstructionists. A responsible opposition does not engage in fear mongering.” She said govt had helped open 58 crore Jan Dhan accounts and 57 crore Mudra accounts. “…Are PM Vishwakarma Yojana, PM Internship scheme for…? Are e-Shram cards, G RAM G Act which provides 125 days of employment without leaks, Ayushman Bharat for…? Are 9 crore+ PM Kisan disbursements for…?” she posted on X. Sitharaman stressed that govt continued to protect farmers by not passing high international fertiliser prices. “We brought ECLGS 5.0 for MSMEs. Was that for…? Agriculture credit growth was 15.7% last year. Was that for…? MSME credit growth was 33% last year. Was that for…?
