NEW DELHI: Congress on Monday berated the Modi government for "poor management" of the economy, saying cases of onion theft best described the state of affairs of an economy going south.

On the day the Sensex plummeted, the rupee touched a new low and onion prices continued to rise, AICC spokesman Ajoy Kumar mocked, "This government promised skill development for youth but it has opened new avenues for thieves. We used to hear of theft of gold and jewellery, now there is burglary of onion and pulses."

Kumar said investors lost Rs 7 lakh crore on Monday, adding that the finance minister was calling the economy strong even when all key indicators from export to manufacturing were down.

"During UPA, Rajnath Singh had said that rupee was in ICU. Now, at Rs 66-plus for a dollar, it is on ventilator, all emergency procedures are needed," the AICC spokesman said.

For all the rhetoric of following a muscular economic policy and criticism of UPA, Kumar said the record of the Narendra Modi government contrasted poorly with his predecessor Manmohan Singh who ensured that India was not affected by the global economic crisis of 2008.

Summing up what he described were extremely negative signals for the economy, Kumar said, "The finance minister blames China, Greece or the opposition for everything."

To a question if the finance minister was proving inefficient, the AICC leader shot back, "The leadership flows from the prime minister."