‘Listen to Manmohan Singh’: On Economic Slowdown, Ally Shiv Sena Has Some Advice for BJP

Mumbai: A day after the central government dismissed former prime minister Manmohan Singh's criticism over handling of the economy, Shiv Sena hit out at the Narendra Modi-led BJP government, asking it to pay heed to Singh’s warning and not indulge in politics over the issue.

Weighing-in on the reports of economic slowdown, Shiv Sena in its editorial mouthpiece, Saamana, said: “National interest lies in listening to Manmohan Singh's advice. There should be no politics around the economic slowdown. Kashmir and economic slowdown are two different issues. The economy is in doldrums,”

In a video statement issued on Sunday, Manmohan Singh had called the state of the economy “deeply worrying”, and said the last quarter’s GDP growth rate of 5 per cent signals that “we are in the midst of a prolonged slowdown”.

However, the government rebuffed Singh's criticism on Tuesday, saying it does not subscribe to his analysis as India has now become the world's fifth-largest economy from 11th during his time. "We do not subscribe to what Manmohan Singh has analysed...India was 11th (largest) economy of the world. Now it is fifth and we are marching to be third," I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar said.

But Shiv Sena said experts should be brought in to tackle the issue. “A sane man like Manmohan has said that no politics should be played around this slowdown. We should take the help of experts and overcome it. It is time we heard his advice,” Shiv Sena said on Wednesday.

The development could dent the BJP-Shiv Sena relations in Maharashtra.

India’s economy grew at its slowest pace in over six years in the June quarter following a sharp deceleration in consumer demand and tepid investment.

According to data released by the government on Friday, India's quarterly GDP has come down to 5 per cent as compared to 5.8 per cent in the last quarter of the financial year. The figure stood at 7.8 per cent in the same quarter of the previous financial year.

Manufacturing sector and private consumption are being blamed for the slump.