"Seems Chidambaram is living under a rock...:" BJP's Malviya

New Delhi [India], April 5 : Slamming former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram for his stinging remarks over India's economic growth rate, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) IT cell chief Amit Malviya on Wednesday said that the Congress leader seems to be "living under a rock or intentionally lying".

Taking to Twitter, Malviya said, "You, Mr Chidambaram, seem to be living under a rock or intentionally lying. The same World Bank (India Development Update dated Apr 1, 2023) report you have quoted talks about the resilience of India's growth, even in the face of global slowdown... the India growth story is real."

Earlier in the day, Chidambaram, citing World Bank's latest GDP estimate for India, attacked the government and said it is only the Centre that is "boasting" about the economic growth rate in the country.

Quoting the latest World Bank report, Chidambaram noted that the five-year average growth during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government (2019-2024) will be 4.08 per cent - which shows economic trajectory is sequentially declining.

"According to the World Bank, the five-year average growth of the Modi government (2019-2024) will be 4.08 per cent. Even the sequential annual growth rates after the corona-affected year show a declining trend The only one boasting about the growth rate is the government," Chidambaram tweeted.

On Tuesday, World Bank in its latest India Development Update report cut India's growth forecast for 2023-24 to 6.3 per cent from earlier 6.6 per cent.

India's growth, World Bank, said, is expected to be constrained by slower consumption growth and challenging external conditions.

However, the report maintained that India's growth continues to be resilient despite some signs of moderation in growth. It notes that although significant challenges remain in the global environment, India was one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.

Coming back to Chidambaram, he also tweeted about the ongoing parliament session, where hardly any debate took place.

"...Who was responsible for the Budget being passed without debate? It is for the first time in Indian parliamentary history that the Treasury Benches started the din and disruption and forestalled debate," Chidambaram tweeted.

Replying to it, BJP IT cell chief Malviya said that the Congress instead wasted the entire session in sloganeering and carrying placards.

"Congress wasted the entire session in sloganeering and carrying placards. RS Chairman is on record saying 10 hours were devoted to discuss Finance Bill. In LS, Congress was throwing papers at the Hon'ble Speaker. Is this how Congress wanted a debate? Amazing doublespeak!" Malviya tweeted.

In the second leg of the Budget session, both Houses of Parliament were adjourned amid protests by opposition parliamentarians on the Ad-Hindenburg issue and of late about Rahul Gandhi's disqualification after he was convicted by a Gujarat court. BJP had been seeking an apology from Rahul Gandhi for his "democracy in India in crisis" remarks in London.