Digvijay Singh, general secretary of All India Congress Committee (AICC), lashed out at rival parties and praised leaders of Congress during his visit to the Ahmedabad on Saturday.
Digvijay Singh, general secretary of All India Congress Committee (AICC), lashed out at rival parties and praised leaders of Congress during his visit to the city on Saturday.
He took a pot-shot at chief minister Narendra Modi without naming him for claiming credit for development of the state. "Gujarat's development is not a recent phenomenon and one should not claim credit for it," said Singh at a function organised by Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Saturday.
Gujarat has been maintaining a growth rate of around 10% since 1990s and that is not because of any one person but because of the entrepreneurial spirit of the Gujarati community, he said. "I salute the entrepreneurial spirit of Gujarat," Singh said.
Singh also used the opportunity to praise Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi for their vision. Last year the world economy was reeling under pressure because of recession. However, Indian economy was not much affected because of its strong banking system. "Nehruvian concept of mixed economy was much criticised but it is because of balance between private and public sector the Indian economy was not affected much," he said. Trade should not be given free play. USA had given free play to the private sector and the world has seen its results, he said.
He also gave credit to Indira Gandhi for nationalisation of banks. "At that time she was criticised much for this move. However, we saw that because of the government's control over the banks, Indian remained recession proof, he said.
Singh also defended the UPA government against prices rise. "India alone is not facing the problem of price rise. Our neighbouring countries are also under going the same problem," he said while talking to media on the sidelines of the function. He also said that purchasing power of common people has also gone up, so there is not much anger or unrest among people because of price hike. Singh also said that prices of arhar have come down to Rs55 from Rs85 recently and in near future it will touch Rs35 per kg. He praised the GCCI's gesture to promote industrialists. "The chamber's decision to felicitate even small exporters is commendable. It is great encouragement for young entrepreneurs and other chamber should also follow the same," he said.
He turned down the possibility of comparing development of India with that of China. "India is a democratic country with independent civil society, judiciary and media which is completely lacking in China," said Singh.
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