Anand Sharma refutes 'crony capitalism' charges levelled by opposition

NEW DELHI: Anand Sharma, the minister for commerce and industry, targeted the opposition and refuted their claims of crony capitalism during the UPA regime. “Many people are talking about crony capitalism and they have sensationalized in a manner that all the economic activities are part of that. This is untrue and this perception must not be sustained. Yes there are issues which happened in other countries too," Sharma said.

The 10-year UPA government’s rule had its share of scandals spread across sectors such as coal, telecom, oil and gas. "My understanding of the English word (scam) is different. There could be some mistakes. Has India put in place the regulatory framework? Is it adequate? That is the question," Sharma said.

The minister said government’s actions were guided by the philosophy of a welfare state. The government is guided by the philosophy of welfare state where natural resources have to be shared and profit maximisation cannot be its objective." The various scams and the general perception that there is high level of corruption during the UPA-2 cost the Congress government heavily in the Delhi assembly polls in December last year. The opposition has made corruption and governance the big issue in the ongoing election campaign.

"It is very tempting and trendy now-a-days to term any initiative as scam", he added. India, like any other country in other parts of the world, has had its share of frauds like the Satyam case, the one by chit funds or even the latest Sahara case, Sharma said.

But there was a robust system that demanded accountability. "Yes there are aberrations but corrections do take place." Anand Sharma said there is a need for electoral and judicial reforms to bring in transparency and accountability in the political process.