Caravan News
NEW DELHI – Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday accused the Centre of failing to adopt people-oriented policies and its apathy was evident in Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statements.
“BJP government have been unwilling to adopt people-oriented policies as seen in statements by Nirmala Sitharaman. Before one can fix the economy, one needs proper diagnosis of the problem,” Singh told reporters in Mumbai.
He also said the government was obsessed with trying to fix blame on the Opposition as it was unable to find solutions.
Underlining the decline of Maharashtra’s manufacturing sector over the past four quarters, Singh said that there is a dearth of opportunities in the otherwise vibrant state of Maharashtra. “Every third youth is jobless in the state. Distress facing rural areas will only add to the unemployment problem as migration increases. Maharashtra used to be Number 1 in attracting investment, today is number 1 in farmer suicides,” the former prime minister said.
Emphasising on the need to tackle the situation, Singh said there is no viable solution to the problem of unemployment except in the framework of a rapidly growing economy. He added that industries should be encouraged to grow.
“Slowdown, government apathy affecting aspirations, future of Indians. Business sentiments across Maharashtra is down, as many units have faced closure,” Singh said after an interaction with businessmen, professionals in Mumbai.
A delegation of 15 PMC Bank depositors also met Singh today at the conference. Commenting on the bank fraud, the former prime minister said, “Hope this issue (PMC Bank crisis) figures prominently in the Winter session of Parliament next month. RBI is a great national institution. Do hope and trust it applies its mind to find credible solutions… PM, govt of Maharashtra and FM should also apply their mind to find a solution.”
