’91 reforms had support: BJP

Senior BJP leader and former finance minister Yashwant Sinha on Saturday said that the Manmohan Singh of 2012 is not the Manmohan Singh of 1991: In 1991 he took measures under the leadership of PV Narasimha Rao which the country had accepted.

Sinha was countering the PM’s argument delivered on Friday that the measures the government was taking were to avert the 1991-like economic crisis.

Sinha pointed out that there had been provision for 100% FDI in food processing, and estimated investments were around US$25 billion but the actual flows were a meagre US $325 million. He used this example to show that the announcement of FDI in multi-brand retail will not create lakhs of jobs. Finding faults with the FDI in multi-brand policy, Sinha said, “The implementation is to be decided by the states... We are going to have elections in Rajasthan and Delhi. What if the government changes?”

Regarding the increase in diesel prices, he suggested that the government should instead cut down its wasteful expenditure and check corruption in its dispensation to improve the economy. He added that the measure would not help in dealing with the present economic crisis, and that the announcement was a mere diversionary tactic and promised that his party would not allow the focus to shift from the issue of corruption in the UPA.