New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Tuesday told the Lok Sabha that there was a “conspiracy” afoot in India to create the impression that the country was not safe for investors, adding that negativity was being spread about wealth creators and businessmen.
Speaking during her reply to the debate on Budget 2024 in the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman spoke about a larger conspiracy to undermine the cohesiveness of Indian society, the trust between the Indian army and its soldiers, and the economy.
“Negativity is being spread in society towards all those who do business,” Sitharaman said. “And this hatred for business and wealth creators is filling everyone. There’s a conspiracy to send a message to the entire world that India is not safe for investors. Rumours are being spread that Indian institutions cannot guarantee security to foreign investments, which is really a sad situation.”
She added that “some forces” are working to create an image of India of strategic instability, economic instability and political instability.
“There is a huge nexus behind this, which is carrying out this conspiracy from the streets and even to Parliament,” Sitharaman asserted.
On the economic front, Sitharaman further said that entrepreneurship itself is being “made a villain”.
“Hard-working entrepreneurs are building this country,” she said. “The conspiracy is to end India’s entrepreneurship culture even before it blooms and thereby hitting at the Indian core backbone.”
The finance minister spoke about how India’s diverse society has been united over generations by its hard-working people, and that the Constitution put in place several arrangements to keep society united.
“But today, through a conspiracy, the faultlines of our society are being exposed,” Sitharaman said. “Mistrust is being created against each other in the society through fallacies, lies and deceit. Efforts are being made to create such a situation that even a spark will lead to a lot of conflict.”
She said that, in a similar vein, the attacks on India’s armed forces were also being intensified “on some pretext or the other”.
“Efforts are being made to divide the army and the soldiers,” Sitharaman said. “The strength of the Army is its unity and discipline. As part of a conspiracy, this strength of the army is being challenged. Whatever is happening today regarding Agniveer is a part of this conspiracy.”
In order to develop India, she said, it is necessary for the country to establish itself as a big economic and strategic power.
“But if there will be instability and anarchy in the country, the journey towards Viksit Bharat will become more difficult,” she said. “This is a huge challenge for us, and as a nation, we have to understand where the problem is.”
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
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