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During his maiden press conference in the city after taking over as the party chief, Singh criticised the UPA for the record 6.7 per cent current account deficit and the present “sorry state” of the economy. “UPA is responsible for rampant corruption, wrong economic polices and incorrect planning. Its performance in job creation is quite poor. During the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) regime, India was a current -account-surplus nation and six million job opportunities were created against a mere 2.7 million created during UPA's 2004-09 rule.”
Singh, meanwhile, defended the constitution of his new leadership team, especially the inclusion of controversial figures such as Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and former minister of that state, Amit Shah.
“There was only one vacancy (in the party’s parliamentary board) which has been filled up by the inclusion of Narendra Modi, after taking into account his seniority. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan's performance has been quite outsanding, but there was one post to be filled up,” Singh said.
On the appointment of Shah — an accused in a fake encounter case — as party general secretary, Singh said court proceedings were under way and till the court delivers the verdict “how can he be considered an guilty?”.
Singh, who visited drought-hit Aurangabad and Jalna districts of Maharashtra, blamed both the central and state governments for their poor handling of the situation.
He asked the Congress-led state government to provide loan to farmers at zero per cent interest on the lines of the Bharatiya Janata Party- ruled Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.
Further, the BJP chief made a strong pitch for the introduction of the Farm Income Insurance Scheme at all-India level, which had been launched in 20 districts on an experimental basis during his tenure as the Union agriculture minister. "The scheme envisages preparing estimates of minimum income of the agricultural land before sowing begins. In the wake of damage of crop due to any calamity, the farmer will be entitled for an assured income under the Farm Income Insurance Scheme," he said.
Singh asked the Central and state governments to provide additional funds on drought relief and rehabilitation.
"Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar should make further efforts to get more central allocation for Maharashtra or else leave the government," he noted.
