BJP is good at spreading fake news and tampering EVMs, says Yashwant Sinha, who joined the Trinamool Congress last month. The former Union finance minister for two terms and former Union external affairs minister also tells Udit Prasanna Mukherji that the Covid-19 pandemic alone cannot be blamed for the economy’s continuing downward spiral. Excerpts from an interview:
What is your take on the elections in Bengal?
You can say I am a part of it. I was also part of the TMC delegation that met the Election Commission on Friday. I have information that on Friday evening, PM Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda had met to discuss the Bengal election.
What I got is that as per ground-level information, what they have gathered is not very favourable for them (BJP). This is why they were discussing a plan of action. BJP’s main target will now be to mislead voters. They are trying to spread the news through various channels that Mamata Banerjee is going to contest from a second constituency so that they can mislead the electorate here. They are good at spreading fake news and tampering EVMs.
Will you elaborate on EVM tampering?
This is a fact. Only the other day, a BJP candidate was caught with an EVM in Assam. It was found in the car of the candidate. Now it is anybody’s guess how many such EVMs are being tampered with. These people (the current BJP leadership) will not shy away from doing anything, including changing EVMs.
There is an allegation from some distributors of PSU oil companies that the ministry is asking for customer data with phone numbers in Bengal.
This is the first central government in the country which does not follow any rule. This includes using central PSUs as election machinery. They have an illusion that all Hindi-speaking people in Bengal would vote for them, but that is not the case. I have addressed two election rallies in Hooghly district and could see the overwhelming response from the public.
What will you say on the current level of inflation?
Yes, the inflation is quite high, and the situation is dangerous. We are in a stagflation situation. When there is a downward spiral in the economy and inflation, then it is a stagflation situation. The pensioners, elderly people, middle class and the poor, all are in a very bad shape.
Your comment on the shape of the economy and what was the impact of the pandemic?
The economy was not doing well much before the Covid-19 pandemic. For the last three years, the basic problem was lack of demand, which was never addressed. Even before Covid, the GDP growth came down from 8% to only 4%. There was a decrease in GDP growth for eight consecutive quarters. So, you cannot blame the pandemic alone. Demonetisation was also responsible for the current state of affairs.
Last year, the Centre came out with mindless economic measures. Actually the pandemic has saved them (Centre) as the economy was already in a mess. The Rs 42-lakh crore package announced by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman was, too, an eyewash.