New Delhi: The BJP Sunday demanded apology from Finance Minister P. Chidambaram over his sarcastic remarks on Narendra Modi's views on the economy.
The party said the minister's comments betray "incapacity and frustration" of the Congress to politically engage with the Gujarat chief minister.
In a statement, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said Chidambaram based his statement on a report in a news daily and sarcastically asked economists to take note of Modi's comments at a rally in Jodhpur Friday.
Modi is the BJP's prime ministerial candidate.
She said the daily clarified the word "inflation" was used inadvertently instead of "economic crisis" in reporting Modi's speech.
Chidambaram issued a statement Saturday that Modi wrongly blamed him for linking inflation to buying gold and also said that the Gujarat chief minister delivered his first lessons in economics.
The finance minister said he stated that buying gold worsens current account deficit (CAD) but did not recall saying buying gold causes inflation.
Sitharaman said Chidambaram rushed to cover up his failures to manage the economy through his "hurried statement, typically worded with pompousness and put-on sarcasm".
"Delivering lectures and lessons may interest the minister, while Narendra Modi continues with providing good governance and development to all people in Gujarat. All 'economists' are already taking due 'note' of Modi's performance vis-a-vis the worsening current account deficit for which he (P. Chidambaram) and his party are solely responsible," Sitharaman said.
Describing Chidambaram's statement as "hasty" and "unbecoming of a minister", she said the BJP demands an apology for the signed statement from him.
