NEW DELHI: As per sources, the Congress party is anticipated to present a ‘Black Paper’ in response to the ‘White Paper’ that the national government is expected to present during the current Parliamentary budget session. The sources state that the Congress’ “Black Paper” will focus on the 10 years of central administration led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The sources further stated that Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge is probably going to present the “Black Paper.” A ‘White Paper’ comparing the economic performance of the 10 years of the Congress-led UPA government with the 10 years of the BJP-led NDA government was first announced by the federal government in the union budget that was presented on February 1. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said during the introduction of the interim budget 2024–25 in Parliament that the economy has been firmly placed on a high sustainable growth path and that the Modi government, which took office in 2014, surmounted the crises of those years. A White Paper “to look at where we were then till 2014 and where we are now, the only purpose was to draw lessons from the mismanagement of those years” will be placed on the House table, she announced. President Droupadi Murmu gave an address to the joint sitting of the two Houses on January 31, which marked the beginning of the budget session. The final Parliament session before the Lok Sabha elections, which are anticipated to take place in April or May of this year, was scheduled to end on February 9.
