Finance Minister Sitharaman hits back at Mahua Moitra’s ‘Pappu’ remark

The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said today in response to the Bengal MP’s yesterday jab that Mahua Moitra should look in her “own backyard” to find “Pappu.”

Sitharaman delivered a long and mocking rebuttal in the Lok Sabha today, pointing out the Bengal government’s boycott of Central government schemes. This came in response to Moitra’s questioning of “macroeconomic fundamentals” that included the taunt “Who is Pappu now”.

Sitharaman said during the discussion on Supplementary Demands for Grants, “Honorable member Mahua Moitra has questioned who’s the Pappu, where’s the Pappu. She should look in her own backyard, and she will find Pappu in West Bengal.”

She pointed that, “All the macro-economics fundamentals are being questioned. So there is no doubt that where there are wonderful schemes to benefit common people, West Bengal sits over it, doesn’t distribute it. You don’t have to search anywhere else for Pappu”.

Sitharaman countered another rhetorical question posed by Moitra citing democratic ideals. She said, “But even worse is this one. “Maachis kiske haath mein hai”. I don’t want to elaborate too much on this. Because she probably wanted to spice up her questions… In a democracy people elect the leader. Don’t undermine the people by saying who’s given them the power.”

Moitra criticised the government on Tuesday for its assertions of economic progress, pointing to its effort to obtain parliamentary approval for an extra ₹3 lakh crore as supplementary demands for the 2022–23 grants, primarily to fund a higher subsidy bill on items like fertiliser, food, and cooking gas.

Terming the Centre’s claims on economy and provision of basic amenities as “falsehoods”, Moitra remarked eight months later, in December, the situation becomes clear. She further quoted famous British author Jonathan Swift “Falsehood flies and truth comes limping after it.”

“The word “Pappu” was first used by this administration and the dominant party. You make light of it and use it to mock and denote total incompetence. However, the statistics identify the real Pappu “Added Moitra.

In order to refute the government’s claims of performance, she also cited the most recent data made available by the National Statistical Office (NSO). Manufacturing, which is “still the biggest generator of jobs,” has shrunk to 5.6% and the industrial output fell by 4% in October to a 26-month low, she said.

With just a couple of months to go for the last full budget for the current NDA government before the 2024 general elections, questions on economy have become very sensitive concern fin the Parliament.