"Modi's Policies Snatching Away Families' Gold Jewellery & Mangalsutras" Says, Praveen Chakravarty (Image:X/pravchak)
Praveen Chakravarty, political economist and the senior leader of the Congress party made a revelation which has come to light, exposing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claim that the Opposition would take away women’s mangalsutras as a blatant lie.
In reality, it’s the harsh economic conditions under Modi’s tenure that are forcing families to mortgage their gold jewellery at an alarming rate, he said. According to RBI data, Indians mortgaged their gold jewellery to borrow over Rs 1 lakh crore in 2023-24, nearly five times more than in 2018-19.
RBI data shows that families mortgaging their jewellery to borrow money are at their highest levels.
Remember PM Modi’s fearmongering about Opposition taking away women’s mangalsutras?
It’s the harsh economic conditions under Modi that are snatching away women’s jewellery! pic.twitter.com/69eRgGnulL
— Praveen Chakravarty (@pravchak) November 30, 2024
He stated that this is a clear indication of the economic distress faced by Indian families. The share of gold loans in overall personal loans has multiplied nearly two and a half times since March 2019.
On April 30, 2024, he wrote about this in ThePrint that the RBI has even issued warnings to banks and financial institutions due to the rapid growth in gold loans.
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What’s even more worrying is that this data only reflects formal lending channels and the actual numbers could be much higher when informal channels are taken into account, he said.
Praveen Chakravarty also stated that Modi’s supporters may try to downplay this data, but the facts are clear. “Indian families are being forced to mortgage their gold jewellery due to economic hardship, not because of a greater push for gold borrowing by financial institutions,” Chakravarty said.
The decline in gold imports by volume over the last five years further supports this claim. During Manmohan Singh’s tenure, gold imports rose by 24% by volume whereas under PM Modi, there has been a decline in gold imports by volume and only a 38% increase in value, driven by rising gold prices, he pointed out.
He stated that the RBI data indicated household demand for gold was higher during Manmohan Singh’s tenure than under Modi. Indian families accumulated more gold under the previous government, whereas under Modi they were being forced to mortgage their gold jewellery, he said.
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It’s time to call out Modi’s lies and focus on the real issues affecting Indian families. The truth is that Modi’s economic policies are snatching away families’ gold jewellery and their proverbial mangalsutras, Praveen Chakravarty added.
