Pranab's speech: Congress says it was high on rhetoric

New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee’s address Monday to both houses of parliament, in which he enunciated reforms promised by the NDA government, was received with a grain of salt by the Congress. Congress leader Veerappa Moily said the speech was “high on rhetoric”. [caption id=“attachment_1562709” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Pranab Mukherjee in a file photo. AFP[/caption] He said while the National Democratic Alliance government made tall promises of poverty elimination and controlling inflation, there was no clear roadmap as to how it would achieve the goals. “The president’s speech is high on rhetoric but how will they (NDA government) achieve what they promise. These grand words are good in a party manifesto, but not in the president’s speech,” Moily told reporters here. Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee president Saifuddin Soz also expressed similar apprehension. “I am disappointed that the cabinet has not exerted itself to prepare the president’s address. They are talking about progress, but there is no model or specific outline how to achieve economic growth,” Soz said. He added that there was no programme for the development of Jammu and Kashmir. Congress leader Kamal Nath described Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s economic agenda as “enunciation of the dreams and hopes” in the market place. “It is the enunciation of the dreams and hopes which you have seen in the market place in the last three months,” Kamal Nath said, alluding to Modi’s economic programmes that include liberalising foreign direct investment in defence sector. Kamal Nath said whether the government succeeds in its policies will be known in a couple of months. Moily contended that while the government made a resolve to contain communal violence, there was no mention of the communal tension sparked in Pune following the murder of a 28-year-old techie allegedly by members of a Hindu right-wing group. IANS