Government: “Does He (Rahul Gandhi) Understand What Monetization Is?”

Nirmala Sitharaman, the Union Finance Minister who introduced the National Monetisation Pipeline on Monday, retaliated today against Rahul Gandhi of the Congress for his criticism of it. “Does he (Rahul Gandhi) comprehend the concept of monetization?” Ms. Sitharaman was quoted by the news agency Press Trust of India as adding, “It was Congress that sold the country’s riches and made kickbacks in it.”

Since its announcement, the monetization plan, which calls for private investment in up to 25 airports, 40 railway stations, and 15 railway stadiums, among other facilities, has become a major political flashpoint.

Mr. Gandhi led the Congress’s attack on the government over the monetization proposal, claiming that it allowed Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “sell the country’s crown jewels, constructed with public money over 70 years, to his industrialist pals.”