New Delhi, Jan 27 (PTI) The Congress on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the government over the state of the economy, questioning the numbers it has been presenting and claiming that "inequality is on the rise" with welfare in "retreat".

Ahead of the release of Economic Survey and the presentation of the Union Budget, the opposition party's research department released a report on the state of the economy and said it was important to lay bare "facts" before the people as the government would roll out its "propaganda" through the President's address to both Houses of Parliament, Economic Survey and the Union Budget in the next few days.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) Research Department chairman Rajeev Gowda along with party colleague Amitabh Dubey released the party's flagship annual report, 'Inequality on the rise, Welfare in Retreat -“ Real State of the Economy 2026'.

Addressing a press conference with Dubey, Gowda wondered whether the Modi government's numbers can be believed.

The party also asked the government to place the real numbers before the country, not "manipulated figures that mislead the people".

"There are terms like 'Goldilocks Moment' being used for the Indian economy by the Modi government and its fans, but unfortunately, this is far from the reality...The IMF gave the Modi government's numbers a C grade. The numbers show a 0.5 per cent inflation. Is that the lived reality of the vast masses of people?" he said.

Former chief economic advisor Arvind Subramanian has calculated that GDP figures offered by the government are at least 2.5 per cent higher than the actual reality, Gowda said.

"In the first half, you had some record-breaking numbers saying that manufacturing grew at 8.4 per cent. But if you look at the biggest component of manufacturing, the index of eight core industries that grew by only 2.9 per cent," he said.

If the economy is doing so well, why is the rupee collapsing, he asked.

Gowda claimed that the rupee has been the worst-performing currency in Asia against the dollar in the last one year.

"There should be a flood of investments coming to India if the economy had been growing at the pace they suggest. Instead, you see the reverse happening -- Net FDI has become negative. Even Indians prefer to put their money overseas. Every year under the Modi government, 4,000-5,000 high-net-worth individuals, millionaires, are fleeing the country," he claimed.

In his remarks, Dubey claimed that inequality is rising in the country and the wealth of capitalists keeps increasing. On the other hand, the schemes that were running to provide relief to the poor are also being targeted for elimination by the government, he said.

"The MGNREGA scheme was the biggest support for the poor, which the Modi government is determined to end. Due to the changes made in its rules, people will no longer receive benefits like before. Previously, the Centre provided 90 per cent of the funds for MGNREGA; now it will provide 60 per cent. Earlier, MGNREGA was available in every rural area, but that will no longer be the case," he said.

Gowda said between 2017-“18 and 2023-“24, share of workers in manufacturing fell from 12.1 per cent to 11.4 per cent.

"What happened to Make in India? Agriculture's share rose from 44.1 per cent to 46.1 per cent," Gowda said.

He also flagging the issue of "rising inequality".

Gowda claimed that four of five Indians subsist on less than Rs 200 per day. "One third subsist on less than Rs 100/day. Net household financial savings are at a five-decade low of 5.2 per cent, household debt is sharply up to 41 per cent from 35 per cent in 2019." People pay more direct tax than corporates - up from 38.1 per cent in FY14 to 53.4 per cent in FY24, he said.

Dubey said, "Growth that benefits only a few is not success. It is a warning sign. Rising inequality and shrinking welfare are the clearest markers of massive economic mismanagement." "But fundamentally good policy begins with honest data. We ask the government to place the real numbers before the country, not manipulated figures that mislead the people," he said.

Dubey also flagged "failures" of the 'Make in India' initiative by pointing to the decline in manufacturing and the challenges faced by MSMEs.

Gowda recalled the prime minister's statement that four biggest castes for him were the poor, the youth, the women and the farmers.

He further listed the government's "shortcoming" on policies related to the youth, women, farmers and the poor.

On the issue of pollution in Delhi, Gowda said air quality has deteriorated to such an extent that it is off the scale, making it impossible to even measure how bad it truly is.

"Ex-IMF chief economist Gita Gopinath asserted that 'pollution poses greater threat to India’s economy than tariffs'. State of Global Air report concludes that 20 lakh Indians died prematurely because of polluted air in 2023. The Lancet reports that in 2022, monetised value of premature mortality due to outdoor air pollution in India is 9.5 per cent of GDP," he said.

But the government stated in Parliament that there is "no direct link between air pollution and lung disease", Gowda said. PTI ASK ASK KVK KVK