Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Rajnath Singh on Monday said the economic situation of the country could not have been as worse as it is at present in independent India, and added that the ruling UPA-led Government is incapable of reviving the economy.
"I believe that the economic situation of the country has not been worse in independent India. Even several international agencies are pondering on whether India's economy will be able to revive or not. The government is failing to take effective steps to revive, restart and recharge the economic situation in the country," Singh said.
The economic condition of the country has been under severe scrutiny after continuous inflation of key commodities, amidst the falling value of the rupee.
The rupee fell to a record low on Monday as a series of measures taken last week failed to stall the currency's decline against the dollar.
The currency fell as far as 62.78 to the dollar, breaching the previous low of 62.03 hit on Friday.
On August 17, the Communist Part of India (Marxist) and the Janata Dal (United) asked the Central Government to strengthen the infrastructure around domestic markets, instead of concentrating on foreign investment into the country.
Meanwhile, Union Cabinet Minister of Commerce and Industry and Textiles Anand Sharma on Friday lauded the UPA-led Government for attracting massive FDI in its tenure, as compared to the previous NDA Government.
Sharma pointed out the successful economic policies of the UPA tenure, saying that USD 273 billion has come into the country in FDI, under the present government. Under the NDA, he said, FDI in the country amounted to less than USD 30 billion.
"We say change the policy direction - concentrate on expanding India's domestic demand. The world is in slump. You can't gain by exporting. There is no market abroad. So expand Indian markets. For that, stop giving these incentives to corporates, collect legitimate taxes, utilise those taxes for public investment to build up our much needed infrastructure that will create jobs; that will increase domestic demands on the basis of which manufacturing and industry will grow," CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury said on Saturday.
The Janata Dal (United) made a similar demand on Saturday, asking for the UPA-led Government to concentrate on enhancement of the domestic market.
"We have nothing but our domestic power-we have our minerals and industry. We should strengthen that. The condition of the economy is going to worsen and they are not going to be able to handle it. It is going to be a problem for the next Government," JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav said.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Friday commented on the rupee dropping to a historic low, and said this is a time for calm and reflection.
Chidambaram said the markets all over the world have taken a hit.
"Nevertheless, the markets have taken a hit and that is reflecting in the rupee also. But we have taken a number of measures; a number of measures are being taken. Let's wait to see what the first quarter growth rates are," said Chidambaram.
"And I have no doubt in my mind when calm is restored in the market, people will begin to understand that Indian market indicators must basically reflect Indian market conditions. They should not be sensitive to data coming out of the US. So, I think that is a time for calm. This is a time for reflection and let us see what happens next week," he added.
