BJP, Left slam govt on slowdown

The Opposition BJP and Left parties on Monday sought an urgent debate in the Lok Sabha on the economic slowdown, with the Communist Party of India (CPM) demanding a white paper from the Congress-led UPA government on the issue.

Gurudas Dasgupta of the CPI raised the issue of economic stagnation during the zero hour in the Lok Sabha. “We are going to celebrate the Independence Day under the shadow of a great depression. The economy is in stagnation and the government is conspicuous by its silence,” he said.

Noting that the Index of industrial Production had come down to 0.1 per cent, Dasgupta said the nation witnessed a slowdown both in goods and services sectors resulting in stagflation.

“This has never happened in India. We cannot blame it entirely on international situation,” he said.

The veteran communist noted that the international rating agencies had been downgrading India as an investment destination and rupee had declined against dollar. He, however, also criticized the government’s plan to open up the multi-brand retail sector to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).