NEW DELHI, 2 March 2007 — Responding to opposition noises in the legislature over the Quattrocchi issue, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said yesterday that his government was not shying away from any discussion on the issue. “We do not shy away from any discussion... We are ready for any discussion,” Manmohan said.
In the Lok Sabha, in the prelunch session, opposition members questioned remarks made by Manmohan on Quattrocchi issue outside the Parliament earlier in the week.
The Bharatiya Janata Party accused the premier of trying to protect key accused in Bofors payoffs case and showing disrespect to the House by speaking on the issue outside. This evoked a sharp reaction from treasury benches.
When questioned by reporters about opposition charges of their being deliberate concealment and delay by the government on Quattrocchi’s detention in Argentina, Manmohan had said on Tuesday: “I solemnly affirm that this government has done nothing wrong.” With the opposition raking up the issue yesterday, both the Houses faced repeated adjournments yesterday.
In response to leader of opposition L.K. Advani raising the issue in the post-lunch session, Manmohan said that he had made the remarks in response to a question from the media.
“It is not my intention to hurt sentiments of any member,” he said. “It was not a press conference. I was asked to comment on election results (in three states) and on Quattrocchi-issue,” he said.
Meanwhile, finance minister forecast yesterday another year of nine percent economic growth and called on industry to back measures to help the nation’s rural masses share in the boom. “I’m assuming a growth rate of nine percent (for 2007-08),” said Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, a day after announcing a budget which declared that boosting the farm sector should have “first charge” on India’s resources.
“The growth story is intact,” he told India’s NDTV television network. India’s economy is forecast to grow 9.2 percent in the financial year ending March 2007, the fastest rate in nearly two decades. Chidambaram’s growth forecast came after he briefed industry leaders on the budget and urged them to support investment measures to put the rural economy, which has been bypassed by the economic boom, on a higher growth path.
“What if the next phase of growth spreads now to rural areas, where nearly 55 percent of the population resides?” he said. “What a huge market it will make and what prosperity it will bring to all — including industry.”
He added it was vital to close the gap between rich and poor in the country of 1.1 billion people that has widened as growth has accelerated. “We can’t delude ourselves that we will live a particular style of life, while they continue to languish in poverty,” he told business chiefs.
The agricultural sector grew by just 1.5 percent in the third quarter to December in contrast with the overall economy, which by 8.6 percent, data on Wednesday showed.
While agriculture only accounts for 18.5 percent of India’s gross domestic product, down from nearly 25 percent just a few years ago, the number of people dependent on farm income has remained virtually unchanged.
