A leading United States newspap-er in its editorial has reported that Indian Prime Minister Manmoh-an Singh  has been an ineffectual leader and the real power is held by his political patron, Sonia Gandhi, who heads Congress party.

New Delhi, Sept 9/Nationalturk -Maintaining that India’s once booming economy is sliding into a deep slump, a leading United States newspaper in its editorial has reported that Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh  has been an ineffectual leader and the real power is held by his political patron, Sonia Gandhi, who heads Congress party.

“India’s growth grew just 4.4 percent this summer, a far cry from the 7.7 percent average for the past decade. Its currency, the rupee, has tumbled 16 percent against the dollar in the last three months. And analysts expect things to get even worse in the coming months,” US influential daily New York Times reported in its editorial.

 It said India many other countries has been hurt as investors have moved money to  United States to take advantage of the prospect of higher interest rates.

“However, most of India’s biggest problems — like its high inflation, which was nearly 5.8 percent in July and has been rising partly because of the falling rupee — have domestic causes. Until the coalition government led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reforms the country’s economy, India will fall far short of its potential,” the newspaper said.

Indian government’s budget deficit has ballooned

The New York Times said in nine years in which coalition government led by Manmohan Singh’s Congress party has been in power, several ministers have resigned in corruption scandals,  large infrastructure projects have been delayed by mismanagement, India’s government’s budget deficit has ballooned due to wasteful spending like subsidies for diesel fuel; and politics have thwarted reforms in labor and education.

“PM Singh has been an ineffectual leader without much authority. The real power is held by his political patron Sonia Gandhi, who leads the  Congress party, which has expressed little concern for the country’s ailing economy,” it said.

The newspaper quoted  analysts as saying that they expect PM Singh and Sonia  Gandhi  to make no politically difficult changes — like privatizing bloated state-owned enterprises or easing counterproductive regulations and delays on public infrastructure projects — until after general elections next year.

“As the economy slows, India’s poor suffer most. Many have lost jobs in hard-hit sectors like construction and manufacturing. They are also seeing their meager incomes eroded by rising food costs,” added New York Times.

Write your comments and thoughts below

Faiz Ahmad / NationalTurk India News

[adrotate banner=”41″]