“India Looks A Lot Like Sri Lanka”: Rahul Gandhi Shares Graphs On Economy
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New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi today compared India to crisis-hit Sri Lanka in a tweet criticising the state of the economy, in which the graphs of the two countries appeared similar when it came to unemployment, fuel prices and communal violence.
“Distracting people won’t change the facts. India looks a lot like Sri Lanka,” the Congress leader posted, sharing a set of six graphics, three each for India and Sri Lanka.
Distracting people won’t change the facts. India looks a lot like Sri Lanka. pic.twitter.com/q1dptUyZvM
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 18, 2022
The graph showed unemployment rising from 2017 in both countries, peaking around 2020 – the year India imposed a lockdown to fight the coronavirus – and dipping slightly the next year.
The second pair of graphs compares petrol prices in India and Sri Lanka, on the rise since 2017 and soaring around 2021.
The third set of graphs shows communal violence rising sharply in 2020-21 in both countries.
The post attributes the data to the Armed Conflict location and Event Data Project, Lok Sabha unstarred questions, CMIE, Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell, Central Bank of Sri Lanka and CEYPETCO (Ceylon Petroleum Corporation).
Sri Lanka is struggling with acute food and electricity shortages and is neck-deep in recession attributed to foreign exchange shortages caused by a clampdown on tourism during Covid.
The unprecedented economic crisis has led to a critical shortage of foreign exchange in the country.
Hit hard by the pandemic, rising oil prices and populist tax cuts, Sri Lanka is facing an economic mess that has led to spiraling inflation and shortage of essential supplies, bringing thousands onto the streets in protest.
Violence between pro and anti-government factions and the police left nine dead and more than 300 injured last week. This was followed by the resignation of former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.
