Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, who has been in the CBI custody for almost two weeks, took a jibe at the PM Modi-led government on Tuesday, 3 September, over the stunted GDP growth rate in the first quarter of 2019-2020.
“Five percent... GDP is five percent,” said Chidambaram, when asked by reporters to comment on his arrest.
India's economic growth dropped to a six-and-a-half-year low of 5 percent in the April-June quarter of 2019-20, due to a sharp deceleration in the manufacturing sector and sluggish agriculture output, according to official data released on 30 August.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday, 3 September, said the CBI custody of the former finance minister would continue till 5 September in the INX Media corruption case.
The apex court asked Chidambaram's counsel not to press for the interim bail plea, filed before the trial court on Monday and scheduled to be heard today, till 5 September.
Chidambaram, who was the Union home minister and finance minister during the UPA rule from 2004 to 2014, was arrested by the CBI on 21 August from his Jor Bagh residence.
‘Chidambaram Strikes Back’
Chidambaram’s response video, which soon became viral, garnered many reactions on Twitter, with people stating that he would have slammed the BJP on the state of economy had he not been arrested.
(With PTI inputs)