Who Is 'Pappu' Now: Trinamool MP Slams Centre Over Economy In Viral Speech

She said the government has said it needs Rs 3.26 lakh additional funds, over and above the budget estimate.

Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha member Mahua Moitra on Tuesday attacked the government over its claims of economic progress, citing its own data on industrial output. Every February, the government had people believe that the economy is doing great, and that everyone is getting all basic amenities like gas cylinders, housing, and electricity, Ms Moitra said, terming the claims "falsehoods", and added that eight months later, now December, "the truth comes limping after it." She said the government has said it needs Rs 3.26 lakh additional funds, over and above the budget estimate.

"This government and the ruling party coined the term Pappu. You use it to denigrate and signify extreme incompetence. But the statistics tell us who the actual Pappu is." Referring to the latest data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), Moitra claimed that while the country's industrial output shrunk by four per cent in October to a 26-month low, the manufacturing sector, which is "still the biggest generator of jobs", has contracted to 5.6 per cent.

Participating in a debate in the Lower House of Parliament on demands for additional grants for 2022-23, Ms Moitra accused the Narendra Modi government of spreading "falsehood" about India's growth and appealed to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to take control of the economy, which, according to the TMC leader, is going downhill.

She also took a swipe at the BJP over its defeat in the just-concluded Himachal Pradesh assembly elections, saying the ruling party's president could not hold on to his home state. "Who is the Pappu now?" she asked.