May God bless this country: Chidambaram on economy on his 74th birthday

New Delhi, Sep 16
Even as he thanked his well-wishers for the birthday greetings from Tihar Jail, former Union minister P Chidambaram on Monday expressed concerns over the economic slowdown, saying “may God bless this country”.
The senior Congress leader, who is spending his 74th birthday in the Delhi prison in connection with the INX Media case and asked his family to tweet on his behalf, said, “My thoughts today are about the economy. Just one statistic tells the story. Export growth in August was -6.05%.”
“No country has achieved GDP growth of 8% without exports growing at 20% a year. May God bless this country,” he added.
Thanking his friends and party colleagues for lifting his spirits higher, the former finance minister said, “I am reminded that I am 74 years old. Indeed I am but at heart, I feel 74 years young. Thank you all, my spirits have been lifted higher.”
Earlier in the day, his son Karti said that turning 74 is nothing compared to turning 100-days old, taking a dig at the BJP-led Central government which recently released a 100-day progress report.
“You are turning 74 today and no 56!!! can stop you. Although you have never been one for grand celebrations, and nowadays in the country, we seem to be making grand celebrations out of every little thing; your birthday is not the same without you with us. We miss you, your absence tugs at our hearts, and we wish you were back home to cut a cake with all of us,” Karti wrote on the micro-blogging site.
Karti further pointed out in his letter that his father has reportedly been allowed newspapers and limited television time. From Chandrayaan-2 to Rafael Nadal at US open, Karti went on to apprise his father about events happening in and around the world.
P Chidambaram is currently in judicial custody in the INX Media case being probed by the CBI and has failed to get any relief.         Express Web Desk