Even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that the economic reforms would continue, the BJP said on Saturday the steps taken by the government were not for the country's welfare. "We welcome what he said, but he has not done anything for the welfare of the country," BJP leader Balbir Punj said.

He alleged that the Prime Minister was working at the behest of the US.

"He is under US pressure. India is independent no doubt, but the Prime Minister is surely not independent. In the country, he is under 10 Janpath, and overall, he works under US pressure," Punj told a television channel.

Manmohan Singh had Saturday morning denied acting under US pressure, saying India is independent and was not dictated to by others.