A former Indian finance minister just released on bail in a bribery case has joined a protest of the government’s economic policies, which are being blamed for India’s slowest economic growth in six years.
Former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said the lower growth rate is pushing millions of people into poverty and he will raise the issue in Parliament. He joined his political party’s protest hours after his release on bail.
On Wednesday, India’s Supreme Court ordered Chidambaram released in the case involving alleged bribery and money laundering benefiting his son’s company when he was the finance minister in 2006.
India’s economic growth was 4.5% in July-September. Many economists believe the economy was weakened by the currency demonetization in 2016 and a hasty rollout of a goods and services tax.