Modi govt never worked with election in mind: Piyush Goyal to Zee News

On Friday, interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal, who delivered the final budget of the Modi government, spoke to Zee News editor-in-chief Sudhir Chaudhary.

Speaking about a budget which brought cheer to the middle class, Piyush Goyal reiterated that the BJP didn’t work keeping elections in mind.

He said that in the last five years, the Modi government had tried to reach every single individual. He thanked taxpayers for being part of the journey. He added that with honest taxpayers, one could create a corruption-less economy.

He also thanked the media for helping create awareness about the government’s policies. He said taxpayers and the media had helped make government policies a Jan Andolan (people’s movement).

He also added that this wasn’t a final budget but an interim one. He added: “People are happy that Modi has used people's taxes honestly, not a single penny has gone to corrupt individuals.”

He added that Direct Bank Transfers (DBT) ensured that people got the benefits directly in their bank accounts.

He also spoke about the report which claimed that the unemployment situation was at a 45-year high and asked if one ought to believe earlier unemployment figures.
 

He added that the formal economy in India was limited and more data collection ensured that we are now getting better estimates.

He went on to say: “India’s world's fastest-growing economy. Is this growth possible without jobs?”

He added that no other government had shown growth like this. He said that the description of jobs had changed, and that today’s independent youth didn’t necessarily chase government jobs.

Meanwhile, he added that this was only the interim budget and there’d be more to come. He added: “The nation's citizens are very smart, (they know) loan waivers won't help.”