Vice President Venkaiah Naidu on Friday said that India has to face “temporary pain for long-term gain”, referring to the economic slowdown, reported PTI. Naidu’s comments came in the backdrop of Bharatiya Janata Party leader Yashwant Sinha attacking the government for the poor state of economic affairs in the country.

The vice president claimed that though the global economy had slowed down, including China’s, India remained a “bright spot”. “I am not getting into this arena. There are other people who are debating, using their skills, what has to be done, what needs to be done,” Naidu added. He said there has to be a “broader consensus” in the country on economic and foreign policies.

Yashwant Sinha had on September 27 criticised the government for the decline in India’s Gross Domestic Product growth rate and described the Centre’s demonetisation drive as “an unmitigated economic disaster”. The former finance minister had said that despite low global oil prices, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had failed to use the extra finances to revive the economy.