Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Saturday alleged Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "dostvaad" has "completely ruined" the country's economy and asked him to answer why his "friends" got tax exemptions and their loans worth crores waived.
At a press conference, he alleged the Centre has written off loans worth ₹10 lakh crore and gave ₹5 lakh crore tax exemption to Mr. Modi's "friends", pushing the country's economy to such a "bad state" that it has to say nothing can now be provided to people for free.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'dostvaad' has completely ruined the country's economy," Mr. Sisodia told reporters.
When the questions are raised, the BJP-led government at the Centre and the ruling party's leaders start "talking here and there", he alleged.
"So, I once again appeal to the prime minister to answer why he wrote off loans of his friends worth Rs 10 lakh crore and exempted their tax to the tune of Rs 5 lakh crore to benefit them and put the country's economy to such a state that you have to say that country will be ruined if anything is given to people for free now," the AAP leader said.
"Answer this question instead of talking here and there that you keep doing all the time," he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks on 'revdi' culture last month has started a debate on freebies in the country and thereafter a political slugfest is on between the BJP and the AAP on the issue.
He used 'revdis', a popular north Indian sweet often distributed during festivals, as a metaphor for freebies being promised by various parties to grab power and said the people, especially the youth, should guard against it.
On Saturday, Mr. Sisodia said it is for the first time in the last 75 years that the Union government had to "tax" food items like milk, curd, wheat and rice.
"The Central government is saying it does not have money to build schools, hospitals, pay pensions and bring schemes to give relief to poor people in the country," he claimed.
The Centre lacks funds to support such measures because it used taxpayers' money to fill up the "coffers of the friends" of Prime Minister Modi, Mr. Sisodia alleged.
