Facing all-round attack, Finance Minister P Chidambaram today appealed for political consensus on a set of common actions and programmes to lift the economy from its difficulties.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha, he said what the country needed was more reforms, less restrictions and a more open economy besides an end to impasse in coal and iron ore sectors to boost the economy.
The Minister also said all options including issuance of sovereign bonds are on the table to deal with widening Current Account Deficit (CAD) and the decelerating value of rupee that touched 66.30 to a dollar.
A grim looking Chidambaram took the floor after a four-hour discussion on the current economic situation when Opposition members attacked him, Prime Minister and the government for "playing" with the economy and bringing it to the brink of a crisis.
It is better that the government, which is unable to tackle the situation, goes and people given an opportunity to elect a new government, said BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, a view shared by some others.
Replying to the debate, Chidambaram admitted that the situation was "grave" and said the country expected political parties to say what they would do in the next few weeks and months "but the hard fact is there is no agreement".
"Let us not fool ourselves. There is simply no agreement on what we will do...If Parliament is not able to point to the direction in which the country's economy will go, Parliament is not able to agree on say 10 steps which the government should take, what kind of message will it send to the rest of the world," he said.
