'Oversight Or Poll-Driven Hindsight?': Priyanka Gandhi On Nirmala Sitharaman's Interest Rate U-Turn

The Centre yesterday cut interest rates on small savings schemes by up to 1.1 per cent.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi today asked Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman if the Centre's overnight flip-flop on small savings scheme interest rates was a case of "oversight" as claimed or one of election-driven "hindsight". She tweeted shortly after the latter posted on the microblogging site early this morning withdrawing the steep cuts in rates announced yesterday, the last day of Financial Year 2020-2021. The Trinamool Congress, battling the BJP furiously in West Bengal, also mocked the Union government. Really @nsitharaman “oversight” in issuing the order to decrease interest rates on GOI schemes or election driven “hindsight” in withdrawing it? https://t.co/Duimt8daZu Egg on face again????Because MO-SHA too busy throwing petals from trucks and cracking April Fool jokes of false promises at election rallies. https://t.co/SVb0dWrqQU Yesterday's announcement by the Finance Ministry saw interest rates on schemes such as the National Savings Certificates and Public Provident Fund (PPF) being cut of up to 1.1 per cent for the first quarter of 2021-22 in a massive blow to middle-class depositors. With this, the PPF rates stood at a four-decade low. However, Ms Sitharaman announced this morning that last evening's orders were a case of "oversight". She tweeted: "Interest rates of small savings schemes of GoI shall continue to be at the rates which existed in the last quarter of 2020-2021, ie, rates that prevailed as of March 2021. Orders issued by oversight shall be withdrawn. @FinMinIndia @PIB_India."