PM, 3 other ministers responsible for failing economy : BJP

New Delhi, Feb 16 (UNI) Holding Prime Minister and three of his key ministers responsible for the failure of political management of the economy and to curb inflation, the BJP today said that the ''half hearted'' attempts of the government to stem the tide were ''too little and too late.'' BJP Spokesman Prakash Javadekar said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, essentially an economist, was more engrossed with Pakistan and his 'Musharraf formula' rather than his core competence.

''Finance Minister P Chidambaram is in constant denial mode about high inflationary tendencies and was more happy in taking fiscal measures rather than his real task of macro and micro-management of the national economy,'' he said, adding that Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar was happy to be a 'Cricket Minister,' busy with his International Cricket Council elections, rather than handling the constraints facing the agricultural sector, and the supplies deficiency which were the root cause for the present inflation, while Commerce Minister Kamal Nath was busy uprooting the farmers from the Special Economic Zones lands, forgetting the task of importing essential goods like pulses, that were in short in supply.

''The Government had woken up very late to ban wheat export only two days ago and the onions which were now costing Rs 25 a kilo were still being allowed to be exported. There was no ban on MNC companies like cargill and Monsonto, who were hoarding wheat and offloading their stocks huge profits nor any measures taken to dehoard the stocks and make it available to common man,'' Mr Javadekar alleged.

He said the constant vigillance was the key answer to check inflation and reminded how the Group of Empowered Ministers used to meet every fortnight to monitor price situation and take corrective steps as and when any devient tendency was noticed.

About the reduction of petroleum prices from yesterday, he said the BJP had been demanding reduction in petrol and diesel prices for the last four months but the government only woke up only when Congress President Sonia Gandhi who too realised the dangers of high cost petroleum products to the national economy but at a late stage, so directed. "She should realise that political expediency is no substitute for sound economics", Mr Javadekar remarked.

UNI