The economist PM sings freedom song
16 Aug 2012 6:41 AM IST
Having overcome the pincer attack from civil society groups on the issue of corruption, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday reached out to the opposition to take the country out of the economic morass. Delivering the Independence Day address, his ninth in a row from the historical Red Fort, Singh said, 'We are not being able to achieve economic growth because of a lack of political consensus. Time has now come to view the issues which affect our development processes as matters of national security.'
The prime minister was clearly indicating towards the next generation of economic reforms, including introduction of foreign direct investment in the retail sector, which has been stonewalled so far by the opposition as well as some of his allies, notably the Trinamool Congress.
The economist prime minister, more than once, emphasised the need to equate economic security with national security during the address. 'If we do not increase the pace of the country's economic growth, take steps to encourage new investment in the economy, improve the management of government finances and work for the livelihood security of the common man and energy security of the country, then it most certainly affects our national security,' said Singh at the colourful function which was attended by the Congress president Sonia Gandhi, the Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar, the leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, the former deputy prime minister L K Advani, cabinet ministers, senior government officials and diplomats among others.
Though the prime minister raised alarm bells on the economic front, even cautioning about the fallout from a poor monsoon this year, it did not deter him to announce a slew of populist measures. 'The National Rural Health Mission will be converted into a National Health Mission, which will cover all villages and towns in the country. We are also formulating a scheme for distribution of free medicines through government hospitals and health centres,' he said.
The prime minister also spoke of the plans to strengthen other populist schemes like the mid-day meal scheme and education for all, which entail huge expenditure on part of the government. He announced a housing bonanza – the Rajiv Housing Loan Scheme – for people belonging to economically weaker sections, who would be given relief on interest for housing loans of less than Rs 5 lakh.
Though he did not address the issues raised by the yoga guru Ramdev and Team Anna, he chose the occasion to blunt the attack of the former army chief V K Singh about the preparedness of the armed forces. 'I would like to reassure our countrymen that our armed forces and paramilitary forces are prepared to face any challenge,' said the prime minister, countering V K Singh, who has recently shared dais with both Team Anna and Ramdev on the issue of corruption.
The prime minister was clearly indicating towards the next generation of economic reforms, including introduction of foreign direct investment in the retail sector, which has been stonewalled so far by the opposition as well as some of his allies, notably the Trinamool Congress.
The economist prime minister, more than once, emphasised the need to equate economic security with national security during the address. 'If we do not increase the pace of the country's economic growth, take steps to encourage new investment in the economy, improve the management of government finances and work for the livelihood security of the common man and energy security of the country, then it most certainly affects our national security,' said Singh at the colourful function which was attended by the Congress president Sonia Gandhi, the Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar, the leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, the former deputy prime minister L K Advani, cabinet ministers, senior government officials and diplomats among others.
Though the prime minister raised alarm bells on the economic front, even cautioning about the fallout from a poor monsoon this year, it did not deter him to announce a slew of populist measures. 'The National Rural Health Mission will be converted into a National Health Mission, which will cover all villages and towns in the country. We are also formulating a scheme for distribution of free medicines through government hospitals and health centres,' he said.
The prime minister also spoke of the plans to strengthen other populist schemes like the mid-day meal scheme and education for all, which entail huge expenditure on part of the government. He announced a housing bonanza – the Rajiv Housing Loan Scheme – for people belonging to economically weaker sections, who would be given relief on interest for housing loans of less than Rs 5 lakh.
Though he did not address the issues raised by the yoga guru Ramdev and Team Anna, he chose the occasion to blunt the attack of the former army chief V K Singh about the preparedness of the armed forces. 'I would like to reassure our countrymen that our armed forces and paramilitary forces are prepared to face any challenge,' said the prime minister, countering V K Singh, who has recently shared dais with both Team Anna and Ramdev on the issue of corruption.
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