BJP praises PV, says history not kind to him

BJP leader Arun Jaitley said the recent history had not been kind to Rao, who was largely credited with ushering in the era of privatisation and limiting government control of the economy, and the "good turning point" in the economy came when he became the PM after the "wasted" 70s and 80s

New Delhi: Former PM P V Narasimha Rao received praise from BJP which lauded him for the economic reforms he had kick-started in 1991 and suggested that the job of reforms would have been more difficult for him than it was for Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Arun Jaitley said the recent history had not been kind to Rao, who was largely credited with ushering in the era of privatisation and limiting government control of the economy, and the "good turning point" in the economy came when he became PM after "wasted" 70s and 80s.

"For Vajpayee as a BJP Prime Minister to move ahead with reforms was relatively easier because it was a natural part of his party's ideological thinking but for a man (Rao) who belonged to a party (Congress) which did believe in regulation to break the trend...," he said.

"When objective history is written, the 70s and 80s would be probably rated as the wasted opportunity and a good turning point came when Rao was the PM," Jaitley said at the launch of a book, ModiNomics, which is about the economic policies Narendra Modi pursued in Gujarat.

The compliments from BJP came a day after former Union Minister Natwar Singh said Rao as a PM felt "insulted" by Sonia Gandhi as she "felt" that the trial of Rajiv’s killers was not proceeding fast enough. "Her attitude is affecting my health. How many times do I have to be insulted?" Rao had reportedly told Singh.

BJP had in the past accused Congress of not giving Rao his due.