Shatrughan Sinha said India's economy needed urgent attention.
Highlights
- Shatrughan Sinha expressed concern over India's flagging economic growth
- "Financial institutions are in a churn," he said in a series of tweets
- The actor-politician is known for his biting comments against PM Modi
Actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha, who surprised many with generous praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his Independence Day speech, returned to form on Sunday, with a piercing critique on the state of the economy. Known for his biting comments on Twitter against PM Modi and his BJP-led government, the Congress leader had called his address from the Red Fort on August 15 "courageous, well-researched and thought-provoking".
"Sir, the economic slowdown clearly seems to be everyone's talking point right now... Don't you think we should do something about it?" Mr Sinha said, starting a series of tweets.
The former BJP lawmaker from Patna Sahib had joined the Congress earlier this year, after years of open dissent with the BJP. An arch-critic of the Prime Minister, Mr Sinha had earlier dubbed the BJP a "two-man army, one-man show".
But his tweet on PM Modi's Independence Day speech read: "Since I'm famous or infamous for calling a spade a spade, I must admit here, Hon'ble PM that your speech from the #RedFort on 15th Aug'19 was extremely courageous, well researched & thought provoking. Superb delivery of the key problems facing the country."
Mr Sinha was the latest in line of public figures expressing concern at India's flagging economic growth that has slowed in the past three consecutive quarters, losing its status as the world's fastest-growing major economy to China, with unemployment at its highest since the 1970s, according to government data.
The automotive sector is particularly stricken, with car sales plunging 31 percent in July, the ninth consecutive monthly drop, prompting manufacturers to halt production at some plants.
India's largest biscuit maker Parle Products warned this week that it might have to lay off up to 10,000 workers if the government doesn't cut sales taxes.
Gross domestic product or GDP grew 5.8 percent in the final quarter of 2018, down from 6.6 percent in the previous quarter.