"Andha Kaal" Belongs to Congress, Nirmala Sitharaman says

Nirmala Sitharaman, the finance minister, said on Thursday that the country did enter a dark age during the Congress era. Reacting to opposition criticism of her latest union budget, as well as criticism of the "Amrit Kaal" plan of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.

Defending the government's label for the next 25 years leading up to 100 years of independence, Ms Sitharaman said in parliament, "This is not Amrit Kaal, it is Andha Kaal."

"He (Shashi Tharoor) said India is facing 'andha kaal'. Sir, there was an andh kaal, but it was by the Congress," the Finance Minister said.

"In 1991, we had foreign exchange reserve for two weeks and we also know about the Emergency, that was andha kaal," she said.

When it comes to inflation during UPA 1 and 2, Ms Sithara says, double-digit inflation was the result of andha kaal... coal scams, 2G scams, corruption every day, and macroeconomic fundamentals going idhar udhar, she says. This was a result of andha kaal with policy paralysis. MS Sitharaman said.

In an earlier statement, opposition parties said this year's union budget had failed to help the poor and farmers, and provided no relief to middle-class families affected by the pandemic.

Saugata Roy, a MP from the Trinamool Congress, described the budget as brutal for the poor and said it does not help the common man cope with inflation.