No drop in sale of automobile and biscuits in Bihar, says Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi on Monday said that the sale of automobile and biscuits have not declined in the state while speaking at an event organised by traders in Patna.

"Some people are saying the economy is facing a slowdown. While it is true that there has been a decline in the automobile sector, but there has been no decline in the sales of vehicles in Bihar. In fact, sales have increased in the state as compared to last year," Mr Modi said.

"I was reading in a newspaper that people have stopped buying biscuits. Sales of a brand of biscuit have dropped. However, when I spoke to the biscuit manufacturers of Bihar they told me that sales have increased in the state as well as in the country," he said.

Mr Modi has made this statement just a day after he tweeted that some opposition parties were trying to create panic in the country over what he claimed to be a recurring "cyclic" slowdown in the economy during months of "saawan-bhado".

"Usually every year there is a cyclic slowdown in the economy during saawan-bhado (the fifth and sixth months in the Hindu calendar), but this time some political parties are creating noise over it to vent their frustration after the loss in elections," he had tweeted on Sunday.

The economic growth slowed to a seven-year low of 5 per cent in April to June quarter from 8 per cent a year ago, according to government data.