New Delhi, Jun 13 (IANS): Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said if the government does not inject cash into the economy, the poor will suffer even more and the middle class will become the new poor.

"If the GOI (government of India) doesn't inject cash to start the economy now, the poor will be decimated and the middle class will become the new poor. Crony capitalists will own the entire country," Rahul said in a tweet.

Endorsing his views, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said, "The government needs to take urgent steps to revive the economy and give money in people's hands so that demand increases and economic activities gain pace."

The Congress said the economy has gone from bad to worse under Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' package announced by the FM was more of a public relations exercise of distributing loans than actually helping the people and industries.

"Unemployment was soaring earlier and the coronavirus crisis has only made it worse. Does the FM have any plans to bring the rising unemployment under control?" asked the party in a statement.

"The BJP's economic policies have been a complete disaster for the country. Even after failing to put the economy back on track, pre-COVID, the FM refuses to listen to experts' voices. The government has been unable to control the rising inflation. And now, to hide their failures, they are busy hiding the vital economic data," said the statement.