"I had written back in 2018 itself that the former Finance Secretary (Subhash Chandra Garg) is without knowledge" - says BJP MP Nishikant

"मैंने 2018 में ही लिखा था कि पूर्व वित्त सचिव अज्ञानी हैं । 

मूर्खता की पराकाष्ठा से कोई व्यक्ति ज्ञानी नहीं होता है ।" -- Nishikant Dubey, BJP MP 

"I had written back in 2018 itself that the former Finance Secretary (Subhash Chandra Garg) is without knowledge/ ignorant. A person does not become wise from the pinnacle of foolishness," Dubey said in a post in Hindi on Sept 3. 

The Jharkhand lawmaker has joined the debate on Garg's knowledge of economy following the former Babu's argument that the government figures on growth rate was erroneous.  

In his 2018 letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Dubey had said:

"I wish to draw your kind attention to certain serious concerns regarding the economic policy approach being advocated by the Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Shri Subhash Chandra Garg, which, in my considered view, requires urgent review in the larger interest of the country’s growth and development".  

The BJP MP specifically objected to what he saw as an excessively restrictive approach to the fiscal deficit. He argued that while fiscal responsibility was important, it could not be separated from India's development requirements.

"Fiscal consolidation should therefore remain a means towards achieving sustainable prosperity and economic stability, and should not become an end in itself," he wrote.

Dubey also called for greater flexibility under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2003. He argued that extraordinary infrastructure requirements, subdued private investment, global uncertainty and strategic priorities could at times require temporary flexibility in the fiscal-deficit path.

"The objective should not merely be to achieve a particular fiscal-deficit percentage on paper, but to determine whether Government expenditure is productive, growth-generating and capable of creating long-term national assets," Dubey wrote.

Dubey also linked his concerns to the government's infrastructure plans, citing projects and programmes including industrial corridors, Bharatmala, Sagarmala, railway investment, UDAN, airports, highways, ports and inland waterways.  

"These programmes are not merely expenditure. They constitute productive capital formation which will reduce logistics costs, improve connectivity, attract industries, generate employment, and increase India’s productive capacity for decades," he wrote.

He argued that such projects required substantial public capital expenditure and that government investment could help crowd in private investment.

"It is therefore important that the Ministry of Finance does not allow an excessively restrictive fiscal approach to slow down the implementation of your Government’s development agenda," Dubey wrote.

The Godda MP said his concerns were based on his interactions with Garg while the latter was Economic Affairs Secretary.  

The letter, dated March 3, 2018, has come to light after Garg questioned whether the reported 7.8% GDP growth in the first quarter of FY 2026-27 accurately reflected the pace of economic activity.

Dubey also took to Twitter and recalled his earlier criticism of Garg.