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BJP: nation headed for economic emergency

Special Correspondent

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had issued a veiled threat to the nation, asking it to understand the compulsions of the government.

The reference was to his televised address on Wednesday night in the context of the recent hike in the prices of petroleum products.

“Condolence message”

BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said the Prime Minister’s speech reflected the despair of a government that was helpless in the face of the deepening economic crisis. It was “unprecedented” on the part of a Prime Minister to address the nation after an administrative decision. This by itself was a sign that the country was headed for an “economic emergency.”

“Dr. Singh sounded as if he was delivering a condolence message.” Asked how his party would have dealt with the sharp increase in crude prices, Mr. Rudy said a BJP-led government would have put in place a slew of measures in anticipation of such a rise. He said the UPA government had rushed into welfare schemes requiring huge subsidies, banking on a nine per cent economic growth. A BJP-led government would not have done that.

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