Echoes of past distrust in US trade deal debate

Last Thursday, when the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, was criticising the government in Parliament, I was reminded of Manmohan Singh's historic 1991 reforms budget speech.

- Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan. The views expressed are personal

It was July 24. Singh, introducing the budget, said, "Time has come for India to rise as a great economic power". His concluding statement was, "No power on Earth can stop an idea whose time has come".

Singh was trying to rouse hope among the people, who were apprehensive as the doors of the economy - shut for decades - were being unlocked. The mood in Parliament was pessimistic. Two months earlier, the government led by Prime Minister (PM) Chandra Shekhar had sold 20 tonnes of gold to the Union Bank of Switzerland with a buyback pledge. Then, upon assuming charge, the government led by PV Narasimha Rao mortgaged 47 tonnes to the Bank of England. The news had dampened the spirits of ordinary Indians.