New Delhi, Jan 31 (PTI) Congress leader P Chidambaram on Friday said Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran's preface to the latest Economic Survey was a "powerful indictment" of the Narendra Modi government and its policies.

The former Union finance minister said nobody trusts this government and its "weaponised agencies." Hitting back at Chidambaram, the BJP said his "screeching hypocrisy and economic illiteracy" would be comical if they weren't so "dangerously delusional." In a series of posts on X, after the Economic Survey was tabled in Parliament, Chidambaram said he was delighted to read the preface to the Economic Survey 2024-25 written by the CEA.

"After the introductory 10 paras that refer to the difficulties faced by U.S. and Europe, the next 10 paras describe the state of the Indian economy. They are a powerful indictment of the government led by Mr Narendra Modi and the policies pursued so far," he said.

Reading these 10 paragraphs one will know what was wrong with the government during the last 10 years and what needs to be done, Chidambaram said.

"His (Nageswaran) advice to the government to 'Get out of the way' is the most sensible piece of advice that I have heard from any government official in the last 10 years," Chidambaram said.

"The CEA has given more pointed advice. Among them are -- give entrepreneurs and households back their time and mental bandwidth; roll back regulation significantly; stop micromanaging economic activity," he added.

The former finance minister said the most significant piece of advice is changing the operating principle of regulations from 'guilty until proven innocent' to 'innocent until proven guilty'.

"The final advice given by the CEA is the most timely and powerful -- 'Wiping out the trust deficit in the country is imperative and government agencies have to set the agenda in this regard'," he said.

"Nobody trusts this government and its weaponised agencies -- not business, not academics, not professionals, not farmers, not workers, not teachers, not students, not the middle class, and not the poor. Congratulations, Mr CEA! And thank you Honourable Finance Minister for letting the CEA speak his mind frankly," the Congress leader said.

BJP's IT department head Amit Malviya responded to the critique by saying, "Your screeching hypocrisy and economic illiteracy would be comical if they weren't so dangerously delusional." He added, "Mr Chidambaram, of all people, lecturing on governance? The architect of the 'Fragile Five' disaster—who left India's economy gasping for breath, the currency in freefall, and corruption metastasizing like cancer — now has the audacity to critique Modi's transformative decade? Spare us the sanctimony." Malviya said that Chidambaram's "laughable attempt" to twist the Economic Survey into a "powerful indictment" of the Modi government is either a masterclass in delusion or a shameless display of partisan hackery.

"Let's dismantle your balderdash piece by piece. As for the CEA's 'get out of the way' mantra -- this has been Modi's playbook since 2014. GST streamlined taxation, insolvency laws cleaned up corporate rot, and PLI schemes turbocharged manufacturing," the BJP leader said.

The Survey explicitly praises the government's strong Ease of Doing Business scores as direct results of Modi's reforms, Malviya said.

"Your faux praise for deregulation reeks of hypocrisy. Where was your applause when Prime Minister Modi scrapped 1,500 obsolete laws or when India jumped 79 spots in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings since 2014?" he asked Chidambaram.

"The Survey's call for deregulation isn’t a rebuke -- it's a continuation of this government's agenda. It highlights successes like AC manufacturing indigenization and urges more pro-growth policies -- hardly an 'indictment'. Your crocodile tears over bureaucratic bloat are laughable when Modi's governance has slashed red tape, not expanded it," Malviya said, slamming Chidambaram.

He said Chidambaram's entire argument collapses under the weight of its dishonesty.

The Survey isn't a critique, it's a blueprint for building on Modi's reforms, he asserted.

"To claim otherwise insults the intelligence of every Indian who has witnessed a decade of transformative growth. Crawl back to your echo chamber—reality has no patience for your lies," the BJP leader said on X.

In the preface to the Economic Survey, Nageswaran advised giving entrepreneurs and households back their time and mental bandwidth. He made a strong case for significant roll-back of regulations both by the Union and state governments.

Nageswaran said 'Getting out of the way' and allowing businesses to focus on their core mission is a significant contribution that governments around the country can make to foster innovation and enhance competitiveness.

"That means vowing and acting to stop micromanaging economic activity and embracing risk-based regulations," Nageswaran wrote.

Effective government policies also mean changing the operating principle of regulations from 'guilty until proven innocent' to 'innocent until proven guilty', he said. PTI ASK ASK VN VN

Regulatory rollback urged to restore trust and free entrepreneurs, recommending a shift to innocent until proven guilty regulation. The Chief Economic Advisor's preface calls for substantive regulatory reform: roll back unnecessary rules, adopt risk based regulation, stop micromanaging economic activity, and shift the regulatory presumption from 'guilty until proven innocent' to 'innocent until proven guilty' so entrepreneurs and households regain time and mental bandwidth and government fosters innovation and competitiveness.