The electoral bond program was preferable to the previous one, which included distributing money-filled bags and suitcases to parties: Sitharaman Nirmala

The electoral bond program was preferable to the previous one, which included distributing money-filled bags and suitcases to parties: Sitharaman Nirmala

Nirmala Sitharaman responded to the opposition's criticism of inflation by saying, "From 2014 until today, with the exception of one or two months in ten years, inflation continues to serve below the "tolerance band" of six percent."

The electoral bond program was preferable to the previous one, which included distributing money-filled bags and suitcases to parties: FM

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman criticized the Congress on Tuesday for abandoning the reinstatement of the previous pension plan, which it had pledged to implement in many states in its Lok Sabha election program. Sitharaman said that the party is skilled at deceiving voters in order to get support.

The senior BJP politician also defended the electoral bond program, arguing that it was a better method since money transfers were visible in accounts rather than the previous practice of giving parties cash-filled "sacks" and "suitcases." The electoral bond program was created by a statute enacted in Parliament.

"It is a better system than what had previously there earlier because money will be visible in the financial accounts on both sides," she said during a news conference here. "Whether the system is perfect is a different matter." She denied that the opposition was right to criticize the Center for raising prices, pointing out that it has a proven track record of lowering inflation and continues to do so.

Regarding the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), she took aim at the former Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan, claiming that it had made a “wrong and impossible” promise and attempted to carry it out despite advice from members of its own party not to.

Sitharaman told reporters at this location, "The Congress party is expert in making promises just for the greater good of elections, misleading the public, taking votes and then forgetting about it." Rather of implementing the New Pension Scheme (NPS), the Gehlot administration introduced OPS. She said that the Congress had won the Himachal Pradesh elections after making the same pledge. The minister said that after its introduction in Rajasthan, the former chief minister requested a refund of the funds sent to the central pool via NPS.

Even then, I insisted that the state government could not get its money back. That money belongs to the workers. That's going to the workers, not the government," she said. According to the minister, the OPS problem is not part of the Congress party's platform for the next Lok Sabha election. "This is how Congress works: it makes promises, deceives the public, gathers votes, and gains power." This is not our stance, this is Congress's," she said. She said Gehlot made it difficult to carry out the East Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP).

"From 2014 till today, except for one or two months in ten years, inflation continues to serve below 'tolerance band' of six per cent," she responded to the opposition's criticism over inflation. "I want to remind everyone that over the ten years between 2004 and 2014, food inflation was around 12 percent at the time, and inflation was in double digits for 22 months. Simply review the data from the previous month; retail inflation is less than 4%, the BJP leader said.

She noted that in spite of this, the government is making every effort to help citizens by importing goods as needed. "Prime Minister Modi never stays quiet about the inflation problem. He constantly wants to know what the "Group of Ministers" has been up to. We are always working to keep inflation under control as it impacts goods intended for the general public, the spokesperson said. Regarding the electoral bonds program that was abandoned, she said that each political party was able to lawfully take use of the system that was established by a legislation that was passed in the Parliament after debate.

"There was no organization in place prior to the election bonds. You may donate gold or apartments, pack them in luggage, or bring sacks of cash to political parties. There was absolutely no control.This solution came about as a result of debate in Parliament. This involves the transfer of funds from the bond buyer to the bond redeemer from "account to account." This system came into being after the passage of legislation in Parliament, the speaker said.

She emphasized that "one can say anything to create a political twist but every party has taken advantage of it" immediately following the Supreme Court's decision to abandon the plan. On Tuesday, Sitharaman was in Jaipur for the whole day. She has previously spoken at this location at the Enlightenment Conference and "Industrial and Business Dialogue."