The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday hit out at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for expressing concern over the economic difficulties faced by the country, saying these were caused by his wrong policies and the “series of scams” taking place during the United Progressive Alliance rule.
“The people of the country don’t expect to hear from the PM about the economic difficulties facing the country, but what he proposes to do to deal with them to improve the economic situation,” BJP’s national spokesman Syed Shahanwaz Hussain told reporters in Patna.
“But the Prime Minister, who had earned accolades for handling the economic situation in the 1990s as the then Finance Minister of the country, has been in the habit of expressing concern with the economic situation and not taking steps expected of him to solve the problems,” Mr. Hussain said.
“It appears that his economic wisdom has turned out to be a liability as the economy is in shambles with inflation, price rise and a series of scams making headlines during all these years of the UPA government,” he added.
Mr. Hussain claimed that the common man and farmers have suffered under the UPA government and only middlemen and power brokers have benefitted.
The BJP’s accusation comes at a time when the UPA government is in the dock over Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar’s letter to the Prime Minister on the Centre “anti-farmer” policies.
Mr. Hussain said the non-plan expenditure of the UPA government has been increasing over the years, but the Prime Minister was not ready to cut it in spite of the “difficult” economic situation faced by the country.
“The Prime Minister should refrain from issuing economic bulletins on a daily basis like medical bulletins issued by hospitals,” he said, adding instead Dr. Singh and Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee should take concrete measures to take the economy out of “the mess“.
To a question on BJP’s suggestions for turning around the economy, Mr. Hussain said the party has several economic experts in its ranks who can give useful advice if the government seeks it.
