Setting the tone for upcoming Parliament session, the Congress on Thursday said it would fight tooth and nail the BJP-led government’s decision to suspend the question hour.

Launching its strongest attack against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the opposition party also gave a new name for GDP, which fell by 23.9 per cent in the first quarter.

Calling it ‘Girti Doobti Pichadti arthvyavastha’, the Congress accused the ruling party and PM Modi of imposing economic anarchy and pushing the country into a deep economic abyss due to decisions like demonetisation and GST.

Party leader Randeep Surjewala said by “feeding peacocks and changing clothes three times in a day”, the “Paridhan Mantri” will not be able to bring India out of economic abyss. “According to the NCRB data, 116 farmers and 48 unemployed people commit suicide every day. How can the PM even sleep?” he said.

“We need a major economic and financial surgery,” Surjewala said on a day Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched yet another salvo against the BJP-led NDA accusing it of selling the country to four-five corporate houses and ignoring repeated warnings from experts on the extent to which the coronavirus pandemic had affected the economy.

Surjewala claimed the BJP had lost the right to govern and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, “responsible” for pushing the GDP down by almost 24 per cent, should herself resign. “How can the FM be allowed to remain on the position. The PM should dismiss her immediately,” he said.

Surjewala alleged that the Modi government was shying away from answering questions which was why it was trying to kill “democracy and Parliament” by suspending the question hour. “They want to cripple and finish Parliament and the decision is a proof of that conspiracy. Can there be any logical answer to why the government does not want to answer questions? This is nothing but lockdown. The government does not want to answer questions on the issues of economy, suicides and job losses. That is why they are doing something that has not been done in the past 73 years. NDA ministers are telling white lies. The government is scared of answering questions on brazen transgressions by the Chinese, the plunder of Indian economy and businesses. The Congress party will oppose their policies tooth and nail,” said Surjewala.