Chidambaram rubbishes corruption charges against ministers

NEW DELHI: Finance Minister P Chidambaram today rubbished a suggestion that most ministers accept bribes and challenged anyone to prove that he was made any such offer.

"If you find one person in India or anyone in the world who will stand before me and say I gave you a rupee as bribe ...it is utter rubbish to say that most ministers will receive bribe," he told BBC.

He was asked about an impression that most ministers take bribes at some point and whether he had received a bribe or inducement in his job.

Answering questions on when India will revert to nine per cent growth rate, the Minister said, "as investment rate goes up (to) 37-38 per cent...we will return to nine per cent growth."

Much would depend upon the global economy, he said, countering, "can you tell me when the world economy would grow by 4 per cent?"

India has been growing by over nine per cent before the growth rate was pulled down on account of global financial meltdown in 2008. The country's growth rate during 2011-12 slipped to nine-year low of 6.5 per cent.

As regards the current fiscal, the Reserve Bank has projected a growth rate of 6.5 per cent, although Asian Development Bank (ADB) in its latest forecast has pegged it at 5.6 per cent.