Chidambaram hits out at PM over his remarks in Bangkok

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Tuesday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remarks in Bangkok, saying that he should have also talked about the falling investment, growth, credit and business confidence in India.

Chidambaram, who is currently lodged in Tihar jail for alleged corruption in the INX Media case, said the prime minister should have said that unemployment has also risen and there are signs that new loans are turning into bad loans.

"At Bangkok, the PM spoke about things that are rising and things that are falling in India. The list was incomplete.

"He should have added that investment is falling; core sector growth is falling; credit to industry is falling; consumer demand is falling; and business confidence is falling," he said on Twitter.

Chidambaram, who asked his family to tweet on his behalf, said, "He should have also said that unemployment has risen to 8.5 per cent and there are signs that new loans given in the last three years are turning into bad loans."

The prime minister had told a group of influential business leaders in Bangkok on Sunday it was the best time to be in India and that many things such as foreign direct investment, ease of doing business, ease of living and productivity are rising while tax rates, red tapism, corruption, cronyism are on a decline.

The former Union minister has been critical of the Modi government's handling of the economy and has said this is the reason that he is being targeted.