On the eve of the second and final phase of polling in Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly defended his government's economic policies — including GST — and launched a scathing attack on the previous UPA regime, saying rising bank NPAs were the biggest scam of its time.
Modi alleged that banks were pressured to give loans worth thousands of crores of rupees to select industrialists, in a scam bigger than 2G, coal and Commonwealth Games. "The biggest scam of UPA government is related to business in banks. In a way, the hard-earned money of people was looted through industrialists," he said. He also assured people that their bank deposits are safe, amid worries over a "bail-in" provision in the proposed Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance (FRDI) Bill that actually "seeks to strengthen the banking system."
Speaking at a FICCI event on Wednesday, he said the objective behind GST was not to increase revenue but to connect traders with the formal system. BJP has been grappling with traders' protesters in Gujarat over the new tax rolled out in July.
The PM said it was the demand of Indian industries that GST should be implemented, and urged the trade body to spread awareness about the key economic reform.
"Measures like GST do not get a solid footing all of a sudden. We are trying to change a system which has been there for 70 years. Our effort is that maximum traders register," he said.
"This was not brought because the government had to earn more tax. The more formal the system becomes, the more benefit will accrue to the poor. Traders will have more ease and they will be able get bank credit more easily," the PM said. GST will reduce logistics costs, thereby enhancing competitiveness of businesses, he said.
The PM said the hopes and aspirations of people are to rid the country of internal problems like corruption, and black money. Political parties and industry chambers should keep in mind the country's requirements and feelings of people, and work accordingly, the PM said.
Attacking "those who are making much noise on NPAs nowadays", the PM said that this is the "biggest liability" handed over to this government by the "economists" in the previous regime.
The PM made repeated references to the work done by his government. He said that 87 important reforms in key sectors, including defence, finance and food processing, have been taken up in the last three years. He said that fuel inflation has dropped in rural areas after more than 3 crore women were given free cooking gas connections under the Ujjwala scheme, while over Rs 4 lakh crore guarantee-less loans were given to about 9.75 lakh youth for business, leading to 3 crore new entrepreneurs being created since the launch of the Mudra scheme.
He rued that rumours are being spread about the FRDI Bill, while the government is working to protect the interests of account holders.
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