NEXT BUDGET MAY NOT BE POPULIST, INDICATES PM MODI, REJECTS UNEMPLOYMENT CRITICISM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday indicated that the upcoming Budget will not be a populist one and said it’s a myth that the common man expects “freebies and sops” from the government.

In an interview with Times Now television broadcast tonight, he also pledged that his government will stay on the course of the reforms agenda that has pulled out India from being among the ‘fragile five’ economies of the world to being a ‘bright spot’.

Modi stoutly defended his economic policies, saying demonetisation was “a very big success story” and that he was open to changes in the new Goods and Services Tax (GST) to plug loopholes and make it a more efficient ‘one-nation-onetax’ system.

He rejected criticism of providing a jobless growth, saying “lies” were being spread about employment generation and his government’s policies were oriented towards creating jobs.

Acknowledging farm distress, he said it was the responsibility of the Centre and the state governments to identify and address farmers’ issues.

Asked if his government will turn populist in its last full-year Budget before the general elections in 2019, Modi said the issue falls under the ambit of the finance minister and he does not want to interfere in it.

“But those who have seen me as the chief minister (of Gujarat) and also as the prime minister (would know) common man does not want all these things. It is a myth,” he said, according to the transcript.

The common man, he said, expects honest governance. “He doesn’t demand sops and freebies. It is our myth.”

Modi said his government was taking decisions to fulfill the needs and aspirations of the common man.

On job-less growth, the prime minister said, “Lies are being spread about employment generation.”

Explaining in detail, he said the formal sector accounts for 10 per cent of the employment and the remaining 90 per cent jobs are in the informal sector.

In last one year, 70 lakh new retirement fund or EPF accounts have been opened for the youth between 18 and 25 years of age, he said. “Doesn’t this show new employment,” he asked.

Stating that there is no statistics for people working the informal sector, he said there are new chartered accountants, lawyers, doctors and consultants who have joined the vocation since 2014.

Attacking critics of demonetisation, Modi said people attempted to “ignite a fire, incite riots and knocked at doors of the Supreme Court. They tried everything possible just to save those who were hoarding black money, to save the corrupt, to save the dishonest.”

The overnight decision to ban 86 per cent of the currency in circulation was “a very big success story”, he said.

It wasn’t about just one currency note going and another coming, but the move brought worldwide respect for India and its governance and to the central bank, RBI, he said.

On Congress, he said his slogan of ‘Congress-free India’ was not about eliminating the main opposition party politically but about ridding the country of the “Congress culture” which he termed as casteist, dynastic, corrupt and involving total control over power among other ills.

Maintaining that the Congress has been the “main pillar” of politics in the country that spread its culture to all political parties, he said that his call for “Congress mukt” or ‘Congress-free India’ was “symbolic” and he wants even the Congress to be free of the “Congress culture”.

He also attacked the opposition party for its objection to the triple talaq bill in the Rajya Sabha, saying instead of indulging in vote bank politics it must get out of this “regressive mindset”.

PM Modi rejected the notion that India was putting “so much hard work” to isolate Pakistan, asserting that his efforts were aimed at uniting the world powers to defeat terrorism as his country has been suffering from the scourge since decades.

He said the suggestion that the country’s foreign policy was based on Pakistan was wrong but stressed that the world was uniting against those sympathetic towards terrorists, an apparent reference to the neighbouring country.

“If you think we are doing so much hard work around the world to isolate one nation, then that is wrong. This is not our work. Yes, the world is grappling with the scourge of terrorism and whoever is sympathetic towards terrorists, the world is uniting against them,” he said.

In his first comments on the judicial crisis, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the government and political parties must stay out of it while expressing confidence that the judiciary will sit together to find a solution to its problems.

He also said the Indian judiciary has a bright history and is full of very capable people.

“Our country’s judiciary has a very bright past, they are very capable people. They will sit together and find a solution to their problems. I have faith in our justice system, they will definitely figure out a solution,” he said.

Asked about the crisis in the Supreme Court after its four seniormost judges came out to openly criticise allocation of sensitive cases by the chief justice, creating an unprecedented situation in the higher judiciary, Modi said, “I think I should stay away from this debate. The government must also stay away. The political parties must also keep out of it.”

IN HIS FIRST comments on the judicial crisis, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the government and political parties must stay out of it while expressing confidence that the judiciary will sit together to find a solution to its problems.