Anand Sharma takes a swipe at colleague Jairam’s ‘reforms’ call

Ramesh is said to have opposed 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail too. Appreciating that Ramesh had now turned around and pitched for FDI in multi-brand retail,Sharma said besides writing to all Chief Ministers,he had recently met some of them including West Bengal’s Mamta Banerjee,who had forced a pause on its implementation.

“While I respect her views,there are large agrarian states that stand to benefit from FDI in multi-brand retail. They should not be deprived of this. The implementation of a policy discussed threadbare by the Cabinet is best left to the wisdom of states…Trade and shop licences are given by the states,” he said.

Responding to a question on Ramesh’s criticism of the government over its reluctance to act tough on subsidies,Sharma said: “Global fuel prices have been volatile. This issue (cutting subsidies) is politically volatile. Petroleum minister has had a press conference. Finance minister has commented. My considered view is that there has to be a targeted approach. We are a country with a large number of unempowered people and weaker sections who need subsidy.”

“People who make an uninformed comment,particularly those occupying responsible positions,it is primarily on partisan considerations. They should do some homework before taking a political position,” Sharma said when asked specifically about Ramesh’s observations to The Economic Times.

As far as petroleum subsidies are concerned,Sharma said while there were issues pertaining to the health of oil PSUs and also revenue generation,a system needs to be worked out such that subsidies,where they are absolutely justified,are targeted to reach the beneficiary. “A well thought out view needs to be taken keeping in mind the debt-GDP ratio and debt service commitments,” he said.