Centre rudderless, clueless about economy: Amit Mitra

West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra on Monday slammed the Centre for India's dismal GDP print in the first quarter of 2020-21, and said the Narendra Modi-led government did not spend enough on fiscal stimulus to bolster the economy amid the COVID-19 crisis.

West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra on Monday slammed the Centre for India's dismal GDP print in the first quarter of 2020-21, and said the Narendra Modi-led government did not spend enough on fiscal stimulus to bolster the economy amid the COVID-19 crisis. The country's GDP contracted by a record 23.9 per cent in the quarter to June.

Mitra, who has been critical of the Union government's efforts to revive the coronavirus-battered economy, also said "negligible" additional stimulus led to a loss of Rs 11 lakh crore of GDP. "Centre rudderless & clueless. Why did India's GDP shrink the most in the world? GoI spent ONLY 1 lakh crores more in April-July 2020, compared to 2019-20, while headlines scream 20 lakh crore stimulus! Negligible additional stimulus meant 11 lakh cr of GDP lost forever," Mitra said on Twitter.

The Bengal minister had last month attacked the Centre over GST compensation to states. "The Centre must pay the compensation from the different cesses that it collects, as it is not getting devolved to the states.

"In case of shortfall it is the responsibility of the Centre to garner resources for fully compensating the states, as per the formula agreed upon with the states," Mitra had said.