You can speak against govt, PM but then…: Nirmala Sitharaman at Raisina Dialogue

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her address at the Raisina Dialogue 2023 on 4 March took an indirect jibe at the Opposition. Noting that India is the destination for businesses, Sitharaman said that the country has the right combination of thing that matter for a growing economy including a middle class, captive market with purchasing power, tech-driven public investment and product and digital infrastructure.

Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue 2023 which was held at Delhi, Sitharaman also took an indirect jibe at opposition and said, “You can speak against the government, you can speak against the Prime Minister, but then, you are there to do your business. So, there are no picking you up and disappearing from the world, none of that happens. Businesses are respected for what they do.”

The finance minister also added, "There is no sector in India that is not available for the private sector to be in function. Public sector policy is not a crazy one and the government is not selling out everything. Opposition fully understands the meaning but says we are selling them off. We are not selling them off." 

Sitharaman in the latest Budget had announced that the government will raise ₹51,000 crore by selling stakes in various state-run companies in FY24. This is marginally higher than the current year ending on March 31, 2023

Meanwhile, her statement also came after recently Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who at a lecture at the Cambridge Judge Business School ruffled quite a controversy. During the lecture, the leader had alleged that an attack has been unleashed on the basic structure of Indian democracy. "Everybody knows and it’s in the news a lot that Indian democracy is under pressure and under attack…The institutional framework which is required for a democracy: Parliament, a free press, the judiciary and just the idea of mobilisation, these are all getting constrained. We are facing an attack on the basic structure of Indian democracy," he had said .

Coming to the Raisina Dialogue 2023, the finance minister also talked about India's attractiveness, she said, there are several ministers who are part of the G20 who have been speaking of friendshoring which means sourcing of products from countries with shared values.

India has been talking about how multilateral institutions need reform and at the recent G20 meeting India proposed to set up an expert panel on how multilateral development institutions should respond to the 21st-century challenges, she added.

In her remarks at the Raisina Dialogue, the Finance Minister said that multilateral institutions should have skills to raise money from the market to have enough money in their pool.

"They are 20th-century products and for them to leverage to their maximum levels, they should be ready for 21st-century challenges and should have the skills to raise money from the markets so that they have enough money in their pool...It is one of the constant points which Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been speaking of," she said.

While answering to a query, she said states are also seeking higher investment and faster growth. "I won't get into the argument on whether the Centre or the states are doing more. States are also getting into a race." They have been saying: 'Is our state attractive enough or alluring enough for investments to come and invest'?" she said.

(With inputs from agencies)