Who's the Real Pappu?

"This government has us believe every February that this country's economy is going great guns. We are the fastest growing most efficient Global player. Everyone is getting employment, we are getting gas cylinders, we are getting electricity, we are getting pakka houses.

This false suit flies for about eight to ten months and then the truth comes limping after it and now we are in December and the government says it needs another 3.26 Lakh crores of additional funds over and above the budget estimate.

The government and the ruling party coined the term "Pappu". You use it to denigrate, to signify extreme incompetence. Let me use the next few minutes to point out what the data, the statistics tell us as to who the Pappu really is.

NSO numbers were out yesterday. Industrial output has shrunk by 4% in October to a 26 month low. The manufacturing sector contracted 5.6%. Manufacturing is still the biggest generator of jobs. 17 of the industry sectors that make up the index of the industrial production have recorded negative growth rates. Forex reserves have fallen by 72 billion dollars in under a year."

"The Minister of State for External Affairs, just last Friday in response to a question in this very house stated that almost 2 lakh people, 1,83, 741 people renounced their Indian citizenship in the first 10 months of 2022.

This Exodus in 2022 takes the total number of Indians renouncing Indian citizenship under this government in the past 9 years since 2014 to over 12 and a half lakh people.

This year has already seen more people giving up Indian Citizenship than any given year.

High network individuals are willing to pay up to 1,000,000 dollars to get citizenship of Portugal, of Saint Kitts, and of Greece. Is this the sign of a healthy economic environment? of a healthy tax environment?

Who is the Pappu now?"

"In the supplementary demand for Grants, I see that the government is asking for an additional 2900 crore to buy land and ready-built accommodation, office accommodation for the Enforcement Directorate.

The taxpayers, You and I, are paying for the ED's operations. For their prosecutions, for the investigations, for their foreign junkets.

So do Parliament and Public Representatives have no right to ask this Na Khaunga, Na Khane Dunga sarkaar who is presiding over the ED, why there is such a pathetic conviction rate of 0.5%.

Is the ED's job to only harass people, or is it to track down and catch the perpetrators of financial crimes."

"You have not achieved the goals of a cashless digital economy. You have not achieved the goals of phasing out fake currency even 4 years after your dhamaka announcement.

Currency in circulation has doubled from 60 from 80,00,000 crores in November 2016 to 32,00,000 crores in November 2022.

Cash management company CMS's cash index for ATM hit an all time high this Diwali. Cash is still king.

Demonetization did not achieve any of the 3 targets.

Who is the Pappu now?"

"When are we going to see the much promised reform in competition in this natural gas sector?

When are we going to see the promised transmission system, operate system, the unbundling of GAIL? Is the government hiding and protecting GAIL under the garb of providing urea subsidies to people?

Nearly 2,000 crores supplementary demand is for large industry. Whereas only 233 crores is for the MSME sector but the MSME sector accounts for 90% of jobs in the industrial sector.

These are very distorted priorities about 45,000 crores demand is for MGNREGA and other rural employment schemes.

This is far too little, far too late."

"The Honourable Finance Minister yesterday stood in this house and she likened us, the opposition, to videsh ka dushman and she said we have Jalan ka bhavna at India's growth.

I stand here today to tell the Honourable Minister, wherever she may be, to tell this government, to tell this ruling party that all of us here have given up our lives, our youth, our jibon ,our job as it were to dedicate ourselves to the service of this great land ,to the service of its people.

We represent the farthest corners of this country. From Karimnagar to Kutch, from Kathgodam to Kasargot. It is our inalienable right to ask the questions of this government.

It is our right to question your incompetence and it is this government's Raj Dharma that should make the treasury benches sit down, listen to our voices and not react like the proverbial khisiyani billi .

It requires enormous courage and responsibility to simply stand up here and speak the truth and we are doing it."

"In contrast, the ruling party is moving from one incendiary issue to another. From the division of Bengal, into North and South, to the citizenship amendment bill, to release the convicted lifetime murderers and rapists just before election, to openly trying to challenge the dictionary into submission.

You somehow keep hoping that you will scare India into submission and you will keep winning power term after term.

But it's not working.

You just went to election in 3 states with all your might, with all your resources.

You won in only one.

The president of the ruling party could not hold on to his own home state.

Who is the Pappu now?"

"A certain Jadi Boti Baba says publicly, he likes women in sarees, salwars and also nothing at all. In the presence of the wife of a deputy chief minister of the ruling party.

Hand on heart ask yourselves had any opposition leader said anything remotely similar you would have been paying for their blood.

The ruling party does not denounce it. There is no outrage.

A convicted murderer and rapist is publicly giving sermons while out on parole and leaders of the ruling party are listening to it.

You do not have the morning clarity to call out right from wrong?

Who is the Pappu now?"

"What this country needs is an elected government which plays hard morality, hard legality and hard economics.

No soft anything.

I urge this government and the Finance Minister to take control of the economy and I urge the people of India to take control over who they give the reins of this country to.

Saawal ye nahi hai ki bastia kisne jalai, saawal yeh hai ki pagal ke haath mein machis kisne di.

This is a question that India needs to answer.

Thank-you very much, Jai hind."