In an interview to the Times Now television channel, telecast on Sunday evening, the PM said he was open to more changes in the goods and services tax (GST). Its implementation was a collective exercise involving ruling and opposition parties; he accused those having termed it a ‘Gabbar Singh Tax’ of “insulting" Parliament.
The PM also rejected criticism of providing jobless growth, saying "lies" were being spread about employment generation and furnished data from a recent study to say seven million jobs have been created. However, he acknowledged farm distress. He said it was the responsibility of central and state governments to identify and address farmer issues.
Modi also pledged his government would stay the course on reforms that had pulled out India from being among the 'fragile five' economies of the world to being a 'bright spot'.
In the interview, telecast on the eve of his leaving for Davos to attend the World Economic Forum meet, the PM said it was a myth that common people expected “freebies and sops” from a government. He was asked if the final full Budget 2018 of his government would be a populist one, given that the Lok Sabha election was nearing. “Those who have seen me as the chief minister (of Gujarat) and also as the prime minister (would know) the common man does not want all these things. It is a myth," he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment