NEW DELHI: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Saturday said only the country’s top 12 per cent households can afford a car and the root cause of this economic slowdown is widespread real-income stagnation for the majority of India.

He cited the remarks of Maruti Suzuki India’s chairman, R C Bhargava, who has claimed that buying cars is restricted to only 12 per cent households in India.

In a post on X, the Congress leader said, “The entire nation is still in a state of great anguish and shock. The brutal terror attack in Pahalgam has cast a long shadow on our lives.”

“Even so, we cannot but take note of what the Chairman of Maruti Suzuki India has said today, which has a great bearing on the economy,” he said, quoting Bhargava that buying cars in India is largely limited to the top 12 per cent households – those with an annual income exceeding Rs 12 lakh.