GDP should not be treated as Bible, Ramayana and Mahabharat: BJP MP Nishikant Dubey's bizarre claim

New Delhi, Dec 02: Amid attack by the opposition over the state of the country's economy, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey said in the Lok Sabha on Monday that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has no relevance and it should not be treated as 'Bible, Ramayan and Mahabharat'.

Participating in the discussion on the Taxation Law Amendment Bill and a statutory resolution disapproving the ordinance on the same legislation, Dubey said: "Sustainable economic development is more important than GDP".

Before Dubey, Adhir Ranjan Chowdury, Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, attacked the government over the falling GDP numbers. The debate in the Lower House mostly hovered around the GDP slipping to an over-six-year-low of 4.5 per cent in the July-September quarter.

Seeking to return fire, Dubey claimed GDP did not exist before 1934. "(Economist Simon) Kuznet said it is not the ultimate truth to believe GDP as Bible, Ramayan and Mahabharat and GDP will not be of any great use in future," Dubey said, inviting ridicule from the opposition benches.

"Whoever talks about the GDP is wrong. GDP has no relevance to this country," Dubey said. He said what is important is the last person standing in the queue and whether the government is able to reach him.