Former BJP president Nitin Gadkari on Thursday lashed out at the Congress-led UPA Government in the Centre saying its flailing economic policies had led to the dwindling economy of the country.
He accused the Government of being visionless and directionless and said economic development in the country had come to a grinding halt. “Despite having economists at the helm of affairs in the Government, there is no economic growth. The BJP has the vision and capability of taking the country towards economic growth,” Gadkari said during a talk on growing economic disparity and the importance of poverty alleviation, which was held on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Pt Deen Dayal Upadhayay in the Capital on Thursday.
He said the economic development model in the country should be such that people return to their respective home States rather than migrate to cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. He also emphasised on e-governance saying that it was as important as good governance since it brings transparency in the system.
“The need of the hour is good governance as well as e-governance. During the reign of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the country was on the path of development. Foreign exchange was surplus. The economic development rate was 9 per cent whereas it is just 4.3 per cent now. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is only going out of the country,” Gadkari claimed. “During Vajpayee’s tenure, import and export were almost at an equal level, but now we are running in losses of around $350 billion,” he added.
Speaking on the occasion, BJP leader Uma Bharti criticised the Government saying offering freebies to underprivileged citizens would not serve any purpose. “The tokenism of visiting and eating at the houses of the underprivileged will not serve any purpose. Instead, the leaders should provide ample opportunities to the youth, particularly the poor so as to ensure all-round growth,”
Bharti said.