Jaitley vs Sinha: Jaitley calls Sinha "job applicant at 80"!
What's the story
The war of words between BJP and former FM and senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha reached new heights as FM Arun Jaitley hit back calling him a "job applicant at 80."
Jaitley criticized Sinha for forgetting his own "track record" as FM and commenting on people rather than policies.
He accused him of colluding with former FM in UPA, P Chidambaram.
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Yashwant Sinha
Sinha and Chidambaram had criticized Jaitley for his economic policies
In an IE op-ed, Sinha had taken digs at PM Modi and Jaitley, holding them responsible for the country's economic slowdown.
He was critical of demonetization, terming it an "economic disaster," and the GST of being "badly conceived and poorly implemented."
After reading Sinha's piece, Chidambaram tweeted "Yashwant Sinha speaks Truth to Power. Will Power now admit the Truth that economy is sinking?"
Jaitley
How did Jaitley retaliate?
Jaitley said he doesn't have the "luxury" of being a former FM or an FM-turned columnist referring to Sinha and Chidambaram, respectively.
If he had that "luxury," he could forget that in 1998-2002, during Sinha's FM stint, banks' non-performing assets were 15% of total loans; further, India suffered a "policy paralysis" under FM Chidambaram.
He accused them of acting "in tandem" forgetting past disagreements.
Defense
Jaitley also defended his government's policies
At the launch of the book 'India@70 Modi@3.5', Jaitley defended his government's policies.
He said GST collections have reached its target since its implementation and revenues will increase in the future.
He said demonetization allowed people "to come clean about their accounts held abroad." Direct tax figures have increased 15.7% over last year, so the "slowdown visualized by some, hasn't even impacted."
Retaliation
Meanwhile, Sinha strikes right back at Jaitley
Replying to Jaitley's dig of being "a job applicant at 80," Sinha said "If I was a job applicant, he (Jaitley) would not be there in the first place."
He denied this was a "personal attack." "If it is the economy, the blame has to be on the FM and not the HM," he said.
He insisted the government "completely misread" the economic scenario.
Congress
Congress accuses Jaitley of side-stepping the real issues
Striking back at Jaitley, Congress said he "tried to escape the blame game, shift goal posts, escape responsibilities, and deny accountability." He skipped many points like number of jobs created.
It said "Unless the economy is set right, Jaitley will have the luxury of being a former FM."
Jaitley may now have to translate his defense into action for this volley of words to stop.