The Congress on Saturday (June 28, 2025) on targeted the economic policies of the Narendra Modi government, alleging the “policies of suppression and oppression” had resulted in sluggish investment growth.
“Savings have dried up and household expenditures have been curbed in Amrit Kaal,” party president Mallikarjun Kharge claimed in a post on social media platform X.
Interest rates on savings account were at their lowest in 25 years, and household savings at their lowest in 50 years, with a consistent decline in the past three years, Mr. Kharge alleged.
“It seems that the Modi government has taken a contract to pick the public’s pockets!!” Mr. Kharge said.
India’s economic growth “stubbornly refuses to accelerate at the desired and perfectly feasible rate,” Congress’s communications chief Jairam Ramesh said in a separate post.
“The most important reason for this failure is that private corporate investment continues to remain sluggish, in spite of the generous tax cuts in September 2019 and the PLI [Production Linked Incentive] cash handouts. The Modi Govt’s own survey indicates that private sector capital expenditure may well be 25% lower in 2025/26 as compared to the previous year,” Mr. Ramesh said.
While banks were willing to lend, companies were unwilling to borrow “since the investment environment is not seen to be conducive to expansion,” the Congress leader said, quoting informed analysts.
Although there were global uncertainties, the growth in demand within India was being held back because of stagnant wages, a distorted GST structure, and sharpening of inequalities, Mr. Ramesh said.
“Amidst a widespread consumption slowdown, there is no systematic incentive for corporates to invest in the creation of additional capacity. Investment is as much a financial decision as it is influenced by psychological factors,” he said.
“These factors have come into greater prominence because of the havoc created by tax terrorism, the gaming of the system by a favoured few, and a feeling of fear and insecurity in the larger corporate world. Ultimately, the investment depression is the inevitable consequence of the Modi Government’s policies of suppression and oppression,” Mr. Ramesh said.
