BJP leaders meet on economic downturn

New Delhi - Organising its act against Congress-led central government, the Bharatiya Janata Party Saturday organised a meeting of its chief ministers and state leaders to asses the impact of the global economic downturn.

Blaming the Congress-led central government for the poor economic situation in the country, the BJP Saturday said the present GDP growth was due to the growth of the states ruled by it.

"The present 6 percent GDP rate is maintained because of the growth in BJP-ruled states. All our states have GDP of 10 percent and above," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said talking to reporters as the party held conclave of its chief ministers on the economic situation.

Party president Nitin Gadkari, who inaugurated the conclave, said: "GDP is going down, and governance deficit and policy paralysis, the 'GD-PP' is growing."

"When the NDA left office, the debt-to-GDP rate was 17.8 percent; today it is 68.05 percent. This has made India the worst among BRIC countries," Gadkari said, referring to the four-nation grouping of Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC).

Gadkari also said that the NDA-ruled states were performing better than those led by the Congress.

The day-long meeting will reflect on how the BJP-ruled states are dealing with the economic downturn, deficit of rain, and also the discrimination from the central government faced by the NDA-ruled states.