NEW DELHI — Biocon Chairperson and Managing Director Kiran Mazumdar Shaw on Sunday said the government did not want to hear any criticism on the economy while expressing hope that it reaches out to the India Inc to work out solutions to revive growth.
Shaw’s remarks came a day after veteran industrialist Rahul Bajaj said the people were afraid to criticise the government.
“Hope the govt reaches out to India inc for working out solutions to revive consumption n growth. So far we are all pariahs n govt does not want to hear any criticism of our economy,” Shaw said in a tweet.
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She later tweeted that India Inc is “neither anti-national nor anti-government” as a response to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s remarks that spreading one’s own impression “can hurt national interest”.
“Madam we are neither anti national nor anti government. We want you to succeed big time as fastest growing economy n rise to the top of the global league of economies. I am a proud apolitical National n only want the Govt to promote good policies including at State level,” Shaw tweeted.
Bajaj, at an award function on Saturday in Mumbai, had said that there was an “atmosphere of fear” and people were afraid to criticise the government and do not have the confidence that the government will appreciate any criticism.
The audience included Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, among others.
Recently, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, delivering his valedictory address at a national conclave on the economy, said that many industrialists tell him they live in fear of harassment by government authorities.
The Congress on Sunday attacked the Modi government over Bajaj’s “atmosphere of fear” remarks, claiming his sentiments were shared across the country and asserting that without harmony how one can expect investors to come.
Asked about Bajaj’s remarks, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera told reporters, “What Rahul Bajaj said, is the sentiment shared across the country, across every sector.”
The atmosphere of this country has been vitiated though it is not beyond repair because the country has some resilience, he said.
“And if there is no harmony in a society, in a country, in a city, how do you expect investors to come and put their money there. Money only goes where it can thrive, where it can multiply, where it can grow,” Khera said.
“And it can only grow in areas where there is peace, harmony, mutual interdependence and happiness,” he said.
Another Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said after ages “someone from the corporate world, all of whom preach a lot to the opposition, has the courage to speak some truth to power”.
“One of the most famous taglines in the Indian corporate ad industry has been ‘You just can’t beat a Bajaj’. Amit Shah has discovered that you just can’t silence a Bajaj as well. Hamara Bajaj ne band baja diya!” senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said in a tweet.
Senior Congress Milind Deora tweeted, “I have always known Rahul Bajaj to be apolitical, fiercely nationalistic & brutally honest. His remarks yesterday are in line with what MSMEs, bankers & industrialists have been telling me - if business sentiment does not improve soon, the worst is yet to come.”