The BJP on Monday alleged that the UPA government was leading the country to a situation of “policy paralysis”. It also targeted Home Minister P. Chidambaram for “committing the original sin” by not following fiscal discipline.
Initiating the debate on the Finance Bill in the Lok Sabha, BJP leader Yashwant Sinha said Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was facing the results of the mistakes committed by (previous Finance Minister) Mr. Chidambaram. “(Mr.) Mukherjee isn't at fault. The original sin was committed in the year 2008-09... The way we took liberty and mocked fiscal deficit, we haven't been able to help the economy recover,” he said.
Mr. Sinha charged the UPA government with throwing the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act “out of the window”. He also accused the government of policy paralysis in decision-making. Referring to the controversy on the move to enact certain legislations with retrospective effect, Mr. Sinha claimed that in February, 2010, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had written to then British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Vodafone, stating that there is no retrospective application of taxation.
“How did he make this statement? Was this draft prepared in the Finance Ministry? If so, I am quite sure they wouldn't have made a crucial mistake of this kind,” he added.
Talking of the recent controversial remarks made by the Prime Minister's Chief Economic Adviser Kaushik Basu, regarding the slowing down of economic reforms, Mr. Sinha said he doesn't need to offer any explanation because “he spoke the truth”.
Keywords: Finance Bill, BJP, Lok Sabha debate
Yashwanth Sinha puts it mildly when he says "policy paralysis. I would say it is a total
Mismanagement of economy. In this mismanagement not only Chidambaram, but also
Manmohan Singh and Montek Singh Ahuluwalia, who has a habit of trespassing into matters
in which he has no jurisdiction (like TEA being declared as national drink), and to a lesser
degree Pranab Mukherjee have contributed.
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