“We will do better than 6.5 per cent growth performance of last year,” said a confident Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, unfazed by Moody’s cutting India’s growth forecast to 5.5 per cent for this year Though he agreed the rating was a matter of concern, he maintained that the fundamentals of the economy were strong.

Talking to reporters at Rashtrapati Bhavan here on Saturday, the Prime Minister said there was no need to draw unwarranted conclusions from Moody’s analysis. “Investments and savings are among the highest in the world. I am hopeful, we will do still better than 6.5 per cent growth performance of last year,” he added.

However, the Prime Minister’s “positive attitude” invited sharp reactions from the BJP, which said he was deceiving the people. The BJP said the Prime Minister was living in denial.

Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said: “To believe that our investment is very high and that the fundamentals of the economy are strong, I think the Prime Minister, who holds the pivotal position in Government, is living in denial.”

The BJP leader said that “most agencies and economists the world over, chambers, independent observers, domestic economists are commenting adversely on the UPA's management of the economy.”

>jigeesh.am@thehindu.co.in