BJP govt has messed up economy, says Manmohan Singh

Highlighting the negative points on the economic front, he said that expected investments had not materialised during the period. Most of the proposals were either languishing or had been given up as the government lacked a sense of direction.

According to him, the growth rate of 6.4 % projected by the Finance Ministry during the budget would not cross even the 5 % mark at the end of the financial year. Industrial growth is expected to be a poor 4 % while growth in exports would stand at a negative one per cent, he further predicted.

Earlier, the Vajpayee Government was quite critical about the Congress government’s economic policies. However, when it realised thatthere was no alternative but to carry on the policies of predecessors for better economic growth, it acted half-heartedly, he said and pointed out that there were several contradictions on economic issues among the ruling allies.

“There is no clear sense of direction guiding this government,” he said and pointed out that this could be gauged from several goof-ups of the government. He forwarded two examples when there was total confusion about the tax to be levied on petroleum products in the immediate aftermath of the budget and also the backtracking regarding the subsidy on fertilisers. The government had to change both decisions within 12 hours. Besides, the government failed to manage the fallout of Pokharan on the economic front inviting sanctions, he added.

To a query whether the present Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha should be blamed for the mess, he said Sinha was “part of the system”. “The Finance Minister has been working under a lot of pressure,” Manmohan said referring to thealleged interference of the pro-Swadeshi lobby. “I sympathise with him (Sinha),” he quipped.

On the proposed Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) Bill, he said that there were several defects in the Bill, particularly the capital requirement provision. These issues are likely to figure in the standing committee meeting for discussion and amendments, where he is one of the members of the standing committee.

He took strong exception to the Shiv Sena’s vandalism at the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) office. “This will give a bad name to our country all over the world. It is really a matter of concern for us. Mumbai happens to be the financial capital of the country and such vandalism would certainly affect the economic activities of Mumbai,” he opined.

Singh admitted that during his tenure as finance minister the government had failed to generate more jobs. “But we succeeded in increasing the growth rate, raised the growth rates in different sectors, particularly in industry and exports,”he said, and claimed his reforms had strengthened the Indian economy and instilled stability on the business, trade and industrial fronts.

Answering a question, he said that Gandhian economy was still relevant in the country. “There is a lot of scope in the Gandhian economy for rural developments,” he added. The former Finance Minister, who is a member of a high-powered Congress committee to study the feasibility of creation of more small states in the country, including Vidarbha, said that the committee would submit its report to the party chief, Sonia Gandhi, soon. “We held a few meetings in this connection and will come out with the report soon,” he said.