Thaindian News

New Delhi, June 12 (IANS) A day after international rating agency Standard and Poor’s warned that India may lose its investment-grade rating due to slowing growth and political roadblocks to economic policy-making, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday blamed the Congress-led UPA government’s “policy paralysis” for the “poor economic situation” of the country.

BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said the government “as usual, is in denial mode” over the S&P; report.

“You may reject this report but investors across the world do not reject it. Ultimately India’s cost of international borrowing will rise,” Javadekar said.

Less than two months after cutting its rating outlook for the country, S&P; also said that India could become the first of the BRICS - Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa - economies to lose its investment-grade status.

Javadekar’s comments come on a day when government data showed industrial production growth rate slowed to a meagre 0.1 per cent in April.

“All over the world, they are discussing what has happened to India’s growth story. Will Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee deny this as well,” Javadekar questioned.

“It is the policy paralysis of government which has resulted in this (economic situation),” he said blaming it on inner conflicts within the government.

“The policy paralysis we have been witnessing is because of the conflict within the Congress, between Congress and government, between 10 Janpath (residence of Congress president Sonia Gandhi) and 7, RCR (residence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh) … There is conflict within the cabinet and within the coalition. That is why our economy is not moving by what its potential is,” he said.