'White Paper is serious document', says Indian FM Nirmala Sitharaman as she slams opposition in Parliament

India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday (Feb 9) said that the White Paper which was tabled by the government in Parliament was a "serious document" and showed the dedicated efforts by the Modi government to bring the economy "back on rails" after almost a decade of "economic mismanagement" of the UPA government.

Responding to the debate on the White Paper in Lok Sabha, Sitharaman spoke of the measures taken by the Modi government to bolster self-reliance in defence and also expedite environmental licenses for more rapid economic development.

"I challenge anyone who says this document is baseless. Everything is with evidence. I challenge anyone who says that we have kept the White Paper which has no proof," Sitharaman said amid interruptions by opposition members.

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"The White Paper is a serious document for documentary evidence for everything that is said in it and prepared with an intention of informing the House of the 10 years' dedicated effort to get the government work in such a way that the economy is back on rails and also progress in such a way that our aspirations can be met," she added.

Govt is afraid of exponential growth in unemployment, says RSP leader

While RSP (Revolutionary Socialist Party) leader NK Premachandran launched a scathing attack against the BJP-led government accusing the party of releasing the White Paper in a bid to blame the UPA government for its failures ahead of the elections.

He said the government was afraid of "exponential growth in unemployment and spiralling price rise" urging the members to disapprove of the motion that was brought by the government.

The White Paper said that when the BJP-led government was formed in the year 2014, "the economy was in a fragile state, public finances were in bad shape, there was economic mismanagement and financial indiscipline, and there was widespread corruption"

"It was a crisis situation. The responsibility to mend the economy step by step and to put the governance systems in order was enormous. Our government refrained from bringing out a white paper on the poor state of affairs then. That would have given a negative narrative and shaken the confidence of all, including investors. The need of the hour was to give hope to the people, to attract investments, both domestic and global and to build support for the much-needed reforms. The government believed in 'nation-first' and not in
scoring political points."

"Now that we have stabilised the economy and set it on a recovery and growth path, it is necessary to place in the public domain the seemingly insurmountable challenges - left behind as a legacy by the UPA Government," the White Paper said.

(With inputs from agencies)