'Can We Please Celebrate?': P Chidambaram Attacks FM Sitharaman Over Unemployment; BJP Hits Back

The US Labor Department reported on Friday that the unemployment rate jumped to nearly a three-year high of 4.3% in July amid a significant slowdown in hiring.

Responding to the news about unemployment in the USA, former union minister and senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram attacked Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman over India's unemployment data released by the Centre.

Taking to X, the former union minister wrote, "The United States reported that its unemployment rate had risen to 4.3 percent. India's FM claimed that India's unemployment rate had fallen to 3.2 percent. Can we please celebrate?"

Notably, while FM Nirmala Sitharaman was responding to the discussion and questions by Opposition members on the Union Budget on Tuesday, she claimed that the unemployment rate in the country had declined from 6% in 2017-18 to a low of 3.2% in 2022-23.

Soon after Chidambaram's post criticising FM Sitharaman, BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya responded, saying, "The Periodic Labour Force Survey released the unemployment data back in October 2023. You seem to have missed the celebration for 10 months now."

Congress leader Chidambaram praised FM Sitharaman on July 23 for 'copying' schemes from the Congress manifesto.