Rahul, Jaitley trade barbs on ease of doing business
NEW DELHI: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and finance minister Arun Jaitley sparred on Wednesday over whether it had become easier to do business in India, a day after a World Bank index claimed the business climate had improved.
Gandhi targeted the finance minister, saying the “entire country will shout to say that there is no ease of doing business in India”.
He was addressing a public rally in Gujarat, which goes to the polls in December.
Within the hour, Jaitley retorted on Twitter: “The difference between the UPA and NDA- The ease of doing corruption has been replaced by the ease of doing business.”
In its Ease of Doing Business report for 2018, an annual 190country assessment of competitiveness, the world Bank said India had for the first time jumped a record 30 places into the top 100, which came as a boost for the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.
Gandhi said: “Jaitleyji sits in his office and listens to outsiders. I would request him that he visits small traders or mid-sized business persons. Ask them whether ease of doing business has improved for them or not...What is spoken abroad is truth for this government but what the poor say in India is farce for them.
Earlier in the day, the Congress leader had tweeted in Hindi, taking off from a verse by Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib to attack the finance minister.
“Sabko maloom hai ease of doing business ki haqeeqat, lekin khud ko khush rakhne ke liye Dr Jaitley ye khayal achha hai (Everybody knows the reality of ease of doing business, but this thought is good Dr Jaitley to keep yourself happy),” wrote Gandhi. At a press conference on Tuesday, after the World Bank ranking was made public, Jaitley said India is the only major country named for pursuing structural reforms.
The World Bank said India’s improved ranking was helped by a slew of reforms in taxation, licensing, investor protection and bankruptcy resolution.
The benchmark, based on data from New Delhi and Mumbai for the year to June 2017, puts India among the top 10 “improvers” globally, having done better in eight of 10 business indicators.