New Delhi, March 13 Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien criticized the BJP-led government at the center on Friday, saying that while it has created the best slogans, the reality is that it has failed to achieve tangible results.
He pointed out that despite creating big slogans, India continues to be vulnerable to external shocks, as has been the case during the current West Asia crisis, when the country had to invoke emergency measures to boost LPG production.
O'Brien said that while slogans like "Make in India" are "fantastic," the share of manufacturing in total gross domestic product (GDP) has only increased by 0.3 percent in the last 10 years, and the same is true for exports.
"We are lions in India. We are tigers in India. Please, stop listening to irrelevant voices and be guided by facts," the TMC MP said.
He also praised Chairman C P Radhakrishnan for ensuring that more members can now raise important issues during Zero Hour, and claimed that the opposition benches also deserve some credit for this.
Chairman Radhakrishnan quipped, "You can take all the credit for this."
Continuing his Zero Hour submission, O'Brien said, "I also want to congratulate this government. There are 190 countries in the world, but none has created better slogans than this government. And we have to give credit where it is due..."
"Slogans are great, but what is the reality? A country that aspires to be a manufacturing power cannot be exposed to external shocks. Look at the West Asia conflict now, with crude prices having risen by 25 percent. Now, in our goal to be self-reliant, we are having to invoke emergency measures to boost LPG output."
He highlighted that in January 2014, the cost of an LPG cylinder was Rs 420, but now it has gone up to Rs 914 per cylinder in Delhi.
"Higher prices for LPG mean we have to revert to traditional methods like firewood or chullas, and we can have all the speeches by the prime minister about the great spread of LPG," he claimed.
"Make in India is a fantastic slogan. But what is the share of manufacturing in the total GDP? How much has it increased in the last 10 years, according to government figures, it is 0.3 percent. Manufacturing growth, same. Exports, same. Look at the exports, manufacturing growth has fallen," the TMC MP said.