BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad slammed Finance Minister P Chidambaram for his comment on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Mr Chidambaram had accused the Gujarat Chief Minister of "staging a fake encounter with facts" for having said on Sunday that, "the growth rate was 8.4 per cent during the regime of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and it is 4.8 per cent under this (UPA) government."
Here are the highlights from Mr Prasad's press conference:
- Mr. Chidambaram you are being economical with truth
- When NDA left power India's growth rate was 8.5% inspite of extreme adversity.
- NDA could do this due to effective leadership.
- In the economic survey of 2005, Chidambaram as FM says that growth during 2003-2004 under NDA was the highest ever apart from 75, 88-89.
- I want to ask him whether he was saying the truth then or is he saying the truth now?
- Chidambaram is conceding in economic survey that growth rate under NDA in 2003-04 was the highest except 2 years.
- Want to ask Chidambaram - were you wrong then or are you wrong now?
- Be honest and tell the country how has 8.4% growth under the NDA been reduced to 4.8%?
- Why is the manufacturing sector down? Why is the rupee falling?
- Any sector that was shining under the NDA is in doldrums.
- Look at the national Highway project or the telecom sector.
- Real-estate sector is under a cloud because of how a son-in-law was favoured and other malpractices.
- Good economy comes from good politics and that needs good governance.
- If Indians aren't investing in India why would foreigners invest.
- There is no investment because of the crisis of credibility.
- They are hiding in the law of average to shield their own non-performance
- This is akin to when parties losing heavily in elections say their vote percentage has gone up.
- We laid a strong foundation for growth.
- They squandered it away by corruption and policy paralysis.
- Chidambaram is using averages to cover up the economic situation of the country.