FM regrets not being able to get legislations passed

Finance Minister P Chidambaram today regretted that the UPA government, which is in its 10th year of rule, has not been able to pass various reform legislations despite general consensus on issues among major political parties.

"...we are not able to pass legislation... That is the only regret that I have in the 10th year (of UPA government). We must work together to achieve strong growth," he said in the memorial meeting in the honour of R P Goenka here.

The Minister further said there is no significant difference of opinion on major economic issues between the two major political parties, Congress and BJP, though certain regional parties may have their own points of view.

"There are very significant differences but on essentials of building an open and liberal economy, I believe there is no great difference between two major political parties in India," Chidambaram said.

The major bills that have been pending for quite sometime include the ones on insurance, pension, companies bill, Direct Taxes Code Bill, Goods and Service tax (GST) Bill, food bill and land acquisition bill.

"We may still have 11th year or we may start the first year of a match. Whatever it may be, I think it is important that we must work together to build a strong economy," the minister added.

The functioning of Parliament has often been disrupted on account of various political issues and allegations of scams against the government.

India's economic growth, which slipped to a decade low level of 5 per cent in the 2012-13, is likely to improve to 6.1-6.7 per cent in the current financial year.