Report a pressure tactic: JDU

Describing the global downgrading of India by Standard and Poor as a lesson to Manmohan Singh,NDA convenor and Janata Dal U president Sharad Yadav said it was a moment for introspection for the Prime Minister,Home Minister P Chidambaram and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia. Yadav said even as the trio had advocated open market economy while abandoning national values,the PM had still been singled out by the US and European countries because they were convinced that he was not doing enough to promote a free market economy. It is a pressure tactic to push FDI in retail, said Yadav. He alleged that the West was aiming to oust West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee from the UPA for coming in the way. However,the JDU leader said he attached no importance to TIMEs description of Singh as an under-achiever.