Indian economy bound to
experience pain, says PM
By
Murali Krishnan
On
Board Air India One, Oct 26 (IANS) After discussing the financial
crisis with world leaders in Beijing, Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh declared early Sunday that India's economy was bound
to feel the pain "sooner or later".
"Well,
it all depends on how long it takes the world community to
restore confidence to the global financial markets. We are
not in complete control. There are bigger players and we are
victims of that. The crisis is not of our making," Manmohan
Singh told reporters as he flew home after meeting leaders
from Asia and Europe in the Chinese capital.
He
added grimly: "Sooner or later, the economy is bound
to experience the pain."
Manmohan
Singh admitted that despite corrective measures undertaken
to cushion the impact of the global financial storm such as
injecting more liquidity and capitalizing the banking system,
he was still "worried".
"To
say that I am not worried would not be correct. It is my duty
as prime minister to worry when things don't go as planned.
I cannot say it (economy) has bottomed out. I really don't
know," said Manmohan Singh.
The
crisis could not have come at a worse time for Manmohan Singh's
Congress-led government which faces crucial state polls from
November and national elections early next year.
His
government has also been accused of not doing enough to stamp
out sectarian strife and communal violence in parts of India.
These
pressing concerns were evident in his press conference while
returning from Beijing where he spoke freely on what is required
to reshape the economic system.
The
prime minister stated that he was also pained by the violence
in Maharashtra where Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman
Sena (MNS) attacked Bihari youths last week.
"I
don't want to criticise any government while I am on foreign
soil. It is very unfortunate that these incidents have taken
place. Any regional tensions or animosity is an act of disservice
to our country," he said.
He
refuted charges that his government had not done enough to
bridge the communal and sectarian divide seen in Orissa, Karnataka
and Maharashtra in recent months.
"I
am very sorry that such a feeling exists. Those who have read
the newspapers about Malegaon and others, I think, would consider
that this is a one-sided view," he said.
"Whichever
section indulges in (terrorism) has been prosecuted regardless
of the community to which they belong."
The
prime Minister was referring to the arrests of suspected Hindu
extremists in Maharashtra for the Malegaon blasts of September
2006 as well as the Modasa explosion in Gujarat last month.
"Let
me say that I would urge the media and all thinking segments
of our population not to link terror with any one particular
religion. Terrorists have no religion... we have to deal wholly
and effectively with terrorism."
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