FM begs to differ on Gujarat impact

new delhi: finance minister yashwant sinha said here on friday the riots in gujarat would have a short term impact on the economy but will not affect the growth of the economy or deter foreign investments in india in the long run. “gujarat is an important state in our country, contributing in a significant way to our economy, so it (the incidents there) will have some impact. but i do not think that this will affect the economic growth or deter fdi in the country in a major way,’’ he said, while addressing the annual session of cii on friday. sinha, however, disappointed the gathering of industrialists who definitely were waiting to hear him on the finance bill and the rollback measures he announced in the parliament earlier in the day. “let me tell you that i feel really unburdened this evening. i did announce some changes in the finance bill, but the impact of the announcement was that there was no debate on the issue in the house. therefore i am not going to oblige mr sanjeev goenka (outgoing cii president) by giving any explanations on the finance bill,’’ sinha said in a lighter vein.