Manmohan Singh has pushed economy back to 1991 level: Venkaiah

Mumbai, Oct 3: Alleging that Prime Minister

has pushed the country's economy back to 1991 era of economic crisis, the

today hit out at the Congress-led UPA government at Centre for allowing

in multi-brand retail.

"The Prime Minister is saying that the 1991 situation is coming back...Who is responsible for this? Prime Minister? You have been in power since last eight years. It's because of your mismanagement of economy," BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu told reporters here.

He said the current situation of economy was the result of government's wrong priorities and overall policy paralysis. "From a robust economy, resilient economy you have turned it into a roasted economy," Venkaiah said.

Venkaiah was referring to the serious economic crisis of 1990-1991 when the country's foreign exchange reserves stood at mere USD 1.2 billion in January 1991. India had to airlift its gold reserves to pledge it with International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a loan. The former BJP president said senior Congress leader Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi was against allowing FDI in retail.

Quoting Dasmunshi's letter dated December 16, 2002, Venkaiah said, "multinational retailers are continuously putting pressure on the government to take anti-national decision of allowing FDI in retail trade".

The BJP leader said even Manmohan Singh, who was the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha in 2002, had opposed FDI in multi-brand retail on the ground that it would destroy employment.

"We should not permit Foreign Direct Investment in Retail Trade. India does not require this kind of reforms which would, rather than creating employment, destroy employment," Venkaiah said citing Singh's letter to the Federation of Association of Maharashtra.

Alleging that the Congress failed to follow coalition dharma, Venkaiah said, "You don't know how to run the government. You never followed the coalition-dharma. That is why the Trinamool Congress Party (TMC) pulled out of the government".

PTI