BJP messed up things: Manmohan, PC

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 18

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday accused the BJP of messing up country’s economy saying PM Modi’s promise of doubling farm incomes in six years was a “jumla”.

“Modiji said he would double farm incomes in six years. You need a growth rate of 12 per cent per annum minimum to make that happen. That’s unthinkable. It’s one of those jumla type statements not likely to be achieved,” Manmohan said in his address at the AICC plenary on Sunday.

The ex-PM said the PM’s promise of two crore jobs was a “pipe dream”. “We have not even seen two lakh jobs a year,” he said. Taking on the government for its policy in Jammu and Kashmir, its defence preparedness and economic position, Manmohan said, “Ill-conceived demonetisation and GST legislations had destroyed many jobs.”

“Foreign policy issues have been mismanaged. Our task is to find pathways to move ahead with the neighbours. The UPA did that…these problems have to be solved peacefully and not in hostility and by shouting,” Manmohan said.

On Pakistan, the former PM categorically said that India and Pakistan must sit together peacefully and sort out their problems. He, however, qualified his remarks saying: “Pakistan must stop the use of its land for terror against India.”

Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram moved an economic resolution giving out data on how the Congress-led UPA posted record achievements on a range of economic indicators vis-à-vis the BJP.

“The UPA lifted 140 million people out of poverty in 10 years. This has never been done in the history of mankind. I charge the BJP that in the last four years you have pushed people back into poverty. On this count alone, we hear voices of people from Gorkhpur, Phulpur, Ajmer, Alwar saying the BJP has pushed them into poverty,” he said.

He claimed the Congress was the sole party that could extricate India from its current crisis of jobs, agriculture growth rate losses and sliding economic indicators.

“We have done it before, we can do it again,” Chidambaram said promising an atmosphere free of intimidation, tax terrorism and midnight knocks on the doors of business should the Congress come back to power.

The economic resolution was later adopted unanimously.