Listening to Manmohan in National Interest: Shiv Sena on Economy

The Maharashtra party said that listening to former PM Manmohan Singh is in national interest right now.

Shiv Sena said that listening to former PM Manmohan Singh is in national interest right now.

(Photo: The Quint)

Shiv Sena, on Wednesday, 4 September, in a surprise development, showed support for former prime minister Manmohan Singh, a day after the Centre dismissed Singh's criticism of the economic situation in the country.

Sena, in its editorial mouthpiece Saamana, said that national interest lies in listening to Manmohan Singh's advice. It added that there should be no politics involved in the economic scenario.

"Kashmir and economic slowdown are two different issues, the economy is in despair," it said.

Former PM Manmohan Singh, in a video statement, called the current state of the economy “deeply worrying” and said that the last quarter’s GDP growth rate of 5 percent is an indication of a prolonged slowdown.

"We do not subscribe to what Manmohan Singh has analysed...India was 11th (largest) economy of the world. Now it is fifth and we are marching to be third," I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar said, refuting Manmohan Singh's statement.

The Shiv Sena, however, said that a sane man like Singh has said that no politics should be played around the slowdown and that we should take help and inputs from experts to overcome it. Its time we heard his advice, the Maharashtra-based party said.

(With inputs from Saamana)