INDECISIVENESS...A PROBLEM ECONOMY FACING

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today said the country's economy was in a bad shape because "nobody accepts responsibility", and there was a need to take "decisive decision" to come out of this gloom. Blaming the UPA government, the BJP's prime ministerial candidate, speaking at an event organised by industry body FICCI here, said that "leadership matters" if the country was to come out of this situation. "When we talk about growth, infrastructure comes in and that is dependent on the energy sector. Industries are shut because of shortage of fuel. Someone has to take responsibility. The reason for disappointment is that nobody accepts responsibility in this country," he said, and questioned "do we need experts to correct this economic situation." Modi said one should not only be ready to receive accolades but also be ready to face the wrath. "This is the reason for disappointment in our country. If the country gives us responsibility, then we have to accept that.... By running away, the country does not function.
"People ask me why didn't you run away when bomb blast struck your rally in Patna. I said, If Modi had to run, he would not have been born," he said.
The BJP's prime ministerial candidate termed 21st century as filled with promises and said it started as a century which would decide the direction of the country. "If we had decided strategy on implementation, work distribution, resource utilisation, we would have been a different country but we have lost that chance," Modi said.
"At the end of the first decade of the 21st century there are question-marks all over the country. To come out of this gloom and question-marks will be the biggest challenge."
"...That is why leadership matters. Decisive decision needs to be taken," Modi said.
Taking on the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he said, "Our Prime Minister likes to speak about `inclusive growth'. Until we build capacity among poor through education, how can it happen?" 

KEEP NATIONAL INTERESTS IN MIND

Economic policies must be devised keeping the nation's interests in mind and whichever government is formed after the Lok Sabha elections later this year must provide development and stability, industry body Ficci said today. "India's development must come first. Whichever government comes to power, it must provide development and stability," Ficci President Siddharth Birla told reporters here. He said that the country has to first recover from the slide in job creation, adding that economic policies must be devised keeping "the nation's interests" in mind, he added. "All political parties must come out with a minimum economic agenda, which must be independent of the politics of parties," former Ficci president Naina Lal Kidwai said. "The economic agenda of India is non-negotiable, irrespective of political parties," she said. If stalled projects are cleared and implemented quickly, 1 per cent of GDP would recover, while passing of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) would add another 2 per cent to the overall growth rate of the country, Kidwai said. "If we want to achieve 8 per cent growth again, policies have to be implemented," she said. Birla said that development is as important as environment. "Environment was a major concern due to which many projects were stalled. Development is as important as environment. Who is going to decide the balance between development and environment, is an important question," he said. Kidwai commended the Centre for bringing down Current Account Deficit (CAD) to the present level during the last six months.