FM Sitharaman declares inflation to be under control; says govt to reduce it further

New Delhi: A day after Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra mocked the Narendra Modi government in Parliament with her 'Who is Pappu now' speech about the health of the country's economy, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addressed the floor on Wednesday to defend the government and hit back at the Opposition MP.

Sitharaman claimed that Moitra merely needs to look in her own backyard to identify the Pappu, claiming that West Bengal has failed to execute many initiatives of the Centre that would have helped the state's people. In response to a debate on the supplementary grant in the Lok Sabha, the FM stated that inflation has fallen from its highs and is now within the Reserve Bank of India's tolerable band. She said that the government had taken steps to lower it even further, NIE reported.

"Consumer-price-based inflation for November 2022 came down to 5.8%. It is difficult to understand when the Opposition raises concerns over inflation." In a jab at the opposition, Sitharaman claimed that inflation was as high as 19.33% in 2013 when the UPA was in office.

The minister also stated that wholesale inflation in November was 5.85%, the lowest in 21 months, compared to 8.38% in October. "Food inflation is at 2.17% versus 6.48% month-on-month. So, inflation control is being done under the guidance of PM Narendra Modi," Sitharaman said.

In response to the government's criticism of the rupee's continuous slide, the FM stated that the Indian currency had strengthened against all currencies, including the dollar. "India has performed much better than many emerging economies. While Turkish Lira depreciated by 22%, Japanese Yen depreciated by 11.9%, South African Rand 15.1% and Chinese currency depreciated by 10.6% against the US dollar."

She continued: "The size of the rupee appreciation in April-November was 15.3% year-on-year against the Japanese Yen, 7.6% compared to Sterling, and 7.5% with respect to Euro, as per RBI data." In response to the Opposition's query about whether the government is softening its stance on Nirav Modi, Sitharaman stated that the government is attempting to recoup the money he swindled during the UPA rule.