PANAJI, Nov 10: Finance Minister P Chidambaram today conceded that a potent mix of factors like slowdown of economic growth, dysfunction of the executive and corruption allegations has brought in a “high degree of negativity” but expressed confidence that the Government would get over it.
“In the second five years of UPA, yes, there is, I can sense, I can see that the voter is at the moment negative. I can see that. I am blind if I don’t see that. The reason is slowdown in economic growth, dysfunction of the executive, the cases of allegations of corruption, investigations that are going on, inflation and a slowdown in job creation.
“I think it is a potent and powerful mix, a potent mix of factors which has brought in a high degree of negativity. It is possible we may get over it.
“It is possible we don’t get over it. It is a verdict we have to leave to the people. We have to accept whatever the verdict people will give,” he said at the “Thinkfest” event in Bambolim near here.
Even in this slowdown in the last nine years, the country has clocked an average of 7.5 per cent growth.
“It is sad that at the end of the 10-year term, the growth has seen slowdown for a couple of years after having been high in the middle years and low in the last two years. I am doing my best. I will continue to do my best to see that there is an upturn before we go to polls,” he said.
Chidambaram was replying to a question whether at the end of the second UPA term in the context of global pressures, CAG reports and high optimism in which the coalition was voted to power in 2009, there was today a lack of credibility for the Government and that the Prime Minister was singularly lacking in leadership.
He shot back saying that he cannot remain in Government and comment on the Prime Minister.
“That is not correct, that is not appropriate. I won’t do it. He is the Prime Minister. I am a Minister in his Cabinet. I have to accept his leadership and respect him. I am sorry, I cannot answer this question.”
But the Minister maintained that UPA-I was written off in 2004 and every opinion poll projected it would lose.
“People though differently and gave us 61 more seats and they reduced the representation for the principal opposition party. So looking back you have to give credit to UPA-I. You can’t take away that credit.
“Five out of 10 years you have to give credit for the fact that people voted back UPA despite every opinion poll writing us off by giving us 61 seats more. So five out of 10 years people seem to have give us a positive vote.”
He acknowledged that some mistakes could have been made.
“I think some mistakes were made. Now we realise that if we look in retrospect, the policies could have been different,” Chidambaram said.
Like elsewhere, the Indian economy too was passing through “stress”, Chidambaram said. “Every country in the world is going through stress. If we remain patient, than we will climb back to our potential growth.”
The fiscal deficit should be contained and should not exceed three percent and Government must moderate the expenditure, he said, adding that “we should be open for domestic and international investments and should liberalise the market”.
The Government, he said, must also target the long term funds as a measure to correct the stressed economic situation.
In the last 15 months, the Union Government did take several of these measures, Chidambaram said.
“Every country has seen the slowdown in the growth. China also faced it. We declined from eight per cent to five and half percent. I don’t think what happened was unusual,” he said.” (PTI)
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