Sitharaman side-steps Manmohan Singh's remarks on state of economy

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday side-stepped a question on former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's remarks that the government should put aside "vendetta politics" and reach out to all sane voices to steer the country's economy out of a "man-made" crisis.

On being asked to respond to the former Prime Minister's remarks, she said, "Is Dr Manmohan Singh saying that 'instead of indulging in political vendetta they should consult sane voices?' Has he said that? All right, thank you, I will take his statement on it. That is my answer."

Earlier in the day, Singh hit out at the Prime Ministers Narendra Modi-led government alleging that "all-round mismanagement" is responsible for the "worrisome" state of the economy.

"The state of the economy today is deeply worrying. The last quarter's GDP growth rate of 5 per cent signals that we are in the midst of a prolonged slowdown. India has the potential to grow at a much faster rate but all-round mismanagement by the Modi government has resulted in this slowdown," he said.

"Our youth, farmers and farmworkers, entrepreneurs and the marginalised sections deserve better. India cannot afford to continue down on this path. Therefore, I urge the government to put aside vendetta politics, and reach out to all sane voices and thinking minds, to steer our economy out of this man-made crisis," he added.