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'It does not understand economics. The entire focus of this government is skewed.'
Anshul Avijit Kushwaha, the Congress candidate from Patna Saheb and former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar's son, refutes the charge of being an 'outsider' in Patna.
Locked in an uphill contest with sitting MP and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Anshul says he has run his campaign from his grandfather Babu Jagjivan Ram's house and draws strength from the long legacy of public service rendered by his family.
"My grandfather was defence minister in the 1971 War, he was agriculture minister during the Green Revolution and brought in sweeping changes as law minister; my mother brought several reforms as social justice minister -- this is where I get my energy from, how can it be a charge?" he says with emphasis.
Trained as an economist, the Cambridge-educated electoral debutant launches a tirade against the Modi government's handling of the economy.
"Even before the pandemic, our GDP plummeted to 3.7% from 8% that we gave as a gift to the NDA. The GDP plummeted precipitously because of extreme mismanagement," he says a week before the latest GDP figures were released.
"The government's entire economic model is flawed. 'Viksit Bharat', 'third largest economy' are all propaganda and slogans. The government's figures are fudged and false," he says in the concluding part of an interview.
On being an 'Outsider' in Patna
On 'parivarvad' in the Congress party'
On his campaign experience
On the economic problems confronting India
But isn't India the fastest growing economy?
So does he doubt the government's figures?
The stock market loves Modi; is jittery if INDIA comes to power
Videos created and edited by Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com