‘Prepare for Attack By Govt on IMF & Gita Gopinath’: Chidambaram

P Chidambaram, former finance minister: Gita Gopinath, IMF Chief Economist

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

With the IMF lowering India's economic growth estimate for the current fiscal to 4.8 percent, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Tuesday, 21 January claimed an attack on the world body and its chief economist Gita Gopinath by government ministers was imminent.

He also alleged that the growth figure of 4.8 percent given by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is after some “window dressing” and he won’t be surprised if it goes even lower.

The senior Congress leader in a series of tweets mentioned that the growth in 2019-2020 will be below 5 percent.

Chidambaram further tweeted that even 4.8 percent is after ‘window dressing’.

IMF Chief Economist Gopinath was one of the first to denounce demonetisation, Chidambaram noted.

The IMF lowered India’s economic growth estimate for the current fiscal to 4.8 percent and listed the country’s much lower-than-expected GDP numbers as the single biggest drag on its global growth forecast for two years.

In October, the IMF had pegged India economic growth at 6.1 percent for 2019.

Listing decline in rural demand growth and an overall credit sluggishness for lowering of India forecasts, Gopinath, however, had said the growth momentum should improve next year due to factors like positive impact of corporate tax rate reduction.