We oppose mindless sell-off: Manmohan

NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Manmohan Singh, who is tipped to become the next Finance Minister, on Friday set at rest speculation of a slowdown of reforms including disinvestment, and said the new government will frame policies to promote investment and economic growth.
"Investors can rest assured that the new government will pursue policies to create favourable climate for growth in savings and investment, leading to rapid growth in output," Singh told reporters after an informal meeting with party leaders Pranab Mukherjee and Jairam Ramesh here.
The announcement comes in the wake of apprehension that the economic growth may come down to below 8.0 per cent due to slower reforms.
Asserting that the Congress-led government would take a balanced approach towards growth, he said "we will pursue a policy that will promote both social and economic growth."
The statement from the former Finance Minister is significant considering the "jobless growth" during NDA''s tenure.

Asked whether Congress-led government would reverse disinvestment policies under pressure from Left parties, Singh said "we are not pursuing privatisation as an ideology... We are against disinvestment per se, if it is shown to be in the national interest. We are open to all options."
Singh''s observation assumes importance in the face of Left parties'' assertion that they were in favour of scrapping disinvestment policy of NDA government.
Singh said the Congress and its allies were in the process of drawing up a Common Minimum Programme which will be a balanced document taking care of the imperatives and ensure that the economy gets going.
Seeking to allay fears among investor community, especially after today''s blood-bath at bourses, Singh said "the new government recognises the role of a healthy stock market. The investor community can rest assured that the new government would not pursue any policy that will create fundamental difficulties for growth in savings and investment."
The assurance comes after the BSE Sensex today fell by 6.0 per cent to close at 5,069 on fears of slowdown in reforms and scrapping of disinvestment of PSUs by the new government.
On the recent rise in petroleum prices, Singh said "the rise in oil prices have a repercussion on Balance of Payments, internal price structure and profitability of oil firms."