Advani gives credit to Rao govt for economic liberalisation

NEW DELHI: Virtually giving credit to the Narasimha Rao-led former Congress government for ushering in economic liberalisation, senior BJP leader L K Advani today said the measures taken in early 1990s had ended the "inferiority complex".

Speaking at a function here, Advani, however, regretted that much of red tapism still prevented India from becoming an economic superpower.

"British rule instilled in us a sense of inferiority complex. Even till lately the type of craze we had for foreign goods. Only after 1990s when the licence-permit- quota raj ended and the private companies were able to compete freely(did the thinking change) and it had an effect on the public sector companies also as they became better," Advani said.

"It is true that the idea of brands was conceptualised recently. The order prevalent earlier was different. We used to criticise the private sector. the responsibility for development was taken over completely by the government. There was a lack of confidence towards the private sector," he said.

Advani said emergence of globally competitive Indian companies had dispelled the inferiority complex that the country was suffering from since British rule.