Questioning the economics behind the pro-poor policies showcased by Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday termed the decade-long rule of the UPA as a “wasted opportunity”.

The principal Opposition party’s national council passed an economic resolution presented by senior leader Arun Jaitley, who counted policy paralysis, unfavourable investment climate, the falling rupee rate and inflation among critical lapses by the UPA regime that have slowed the economy, created joblessness and driven away investors.

Responding sharply to Rahul Gandhi, who touted various policy measures — MNREGA, Food Security Act, Right to Education and so on — as a mark of the UPA’s commitment to the poor, Jaitley argued that given the dismal state of the economy, the financial resources required for these programmes have shrunk.

“Yesterday, at the Talkatora stadium (venue of the AICC session, where Rahul Gandhi made the remarks), a big show was put up. Given the legacy that the Congress is leaving behind, I wonder where the financial resources needed for the said poverty-alleviation programmes are going to come from,” said Jaitley. The four-page economic resolution prepared by BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar targeted the UPA for crippling the economy.

Jaitley, who presented the resolution to the party council, said besides corruption, the main reason for the UPA’s “absolute failure” on the economic front is Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s lack of political authority.

“The buck does not stop with the Prime Minister in this Government because the political authority rests outside. The Congress party runs a parallel Government, which only focuses on disbursing revenue for votes. Even the votes are hard to come by now because of corruption. At the same time, the PM is unable to restrain ministers who indulge in corruption or paralyse the Government with inefficiency and indifference,” said Jaitley.

> poornima.joshi@thehindu.co.in

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