Nirmala Sitharaman tweets small savings rate cut order to be withdrawn; Congress calls it 'poll-driven hindsight'

In a tweet on Thursday morning that simultaneously gave rise to cheer and dismay, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the "interest rates of small savings schemes will continue to be at the rates which existed in the last quarter of 2020-2021". However, what caught everyone's attention was that "Orders issued by oversight shall be withdrawn."The finance minister's tweet in the morning when the states of Assam and West Bengal are voting in the second phase of Assembly elections in 39 and 30 constituencies respectively even led to speculations if the decision was motivated by the state polls with Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra dropping hints of a more political decision rather than financial.

Congress leader Vineet Punia responded to the finance minister's tweet accusing the BJP government of repeatedly harming citizens on the economic front.On Wednesday, in a jolt to savers, the finance ministry had reduced interest rate by up to 1.1 percent across various small savings schemes, including the National Savings Certificates (NSC) and Public Provident Fund (PPF).The interest rate on Public Provident Fund (PPF) was reduced by 0.7 percent to 6.4 percent, while National Savings Certificate (NSC) was to earn 0.9 percent less at 5.9 percent.The steepest fall of 1.1 percent was effected in the one-year term deposit. The new rate was brought down to 4.4 percent as compared to 5.5 percent.Interest rates for small savings schemes are notified on a quarterly basis.​With inputs from PTI