Though it slowed growth, DeMo was needed: PM Modi
TNN | Jan 2, 2019, 03:26 ISTHighlights
- On criticism that demonetisation was a shock to the system, Modi said it was first necessary to consider whether the measure was needed
- He admitted that demonetisation slowed growth, saying this was the result of a change in process
- Strongly defending GST, he said it had sharply reduced incidence of taxation and the need to pay cascading taxes that went as high as 30-40%
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said the coming Lok Sabha election will be one between “janata (people)” and the opposition alliance (Mahagathbandan). “Their single-point agenda is Modi. Do this to Modi, do that to Modi... Take any 10 pages of a newspaper, 10 leaders of (this) alliance in different voices abuse Modi,” he told ANI in an interview.
“I leave it to the people to decide whether or not they are satisfied with my work,” he said and emphasised his “outsider” credentials in Lutyens’ Delhi. “I could not make Lutyens’ world a part of me... I am a representative of the non-elite world... There is honesty in my work, I work for the people.”
Modi also addressed BJP’s failures in the recent polls to five state assemblies, remarking that while Chhattisgarh was a loss, MP and Rajasthan had hung houses. “Secondly, 15 years of anti-incumbency was being fought by our people. We are discussing what was lacking.”
He attacked Congress as a party that promoted casteism, dynastic politics and nepotism. On being asked about several high-profile accused still walking free despite his promise of a crackdown on corruption, the PM said, “They are on bail... it is a fact that those considered the first family, who ran the country for four generations, are out on bail, that too for financial irregularities.”
Modi sought to beat back opposition attacks that the country was slipping and the government had under-performed. He pointed to gains like electrification of villages, launch of Ayushman Bharat, a UN award for climate change redressal and gains in the field of sports and Isro’s feat in placing 100 satellites in orbit.
On criticism that demonetisation was a shock to the system, Modi said it was first necessary to consider whether the measure was needed. “This wasn’t a jhatka. We had warned people a year in advance that we have a scheme wherein if you have such wealth, you can deposit it... This process took one year... This was necessary for the economic health of the country.” He admitted that demonetisation slowed growth, saying this was the result of a change in process. “In the railways, if a bogey changes track, there is a change in speed... Even when Manmohan Singh was FM and reforms were introduced, GDP fell... to approximately less than 2%,” he said. Strongly defending GST, he said it had sharply reduced incidence of taxation and the need to pay cascading taxes that went as high as 30-40%.
He repeated his recent criticism of Congress’s loan waiver offers as “lollipops” and said a very small section of farmers benefited.
On cow vigilantism and lynchings, Modi said, “No such incident reflects well on a civilised society. This is wrong and condemnable.”
“I leave it to the people to decide whether or not they are satisfied with my work,” he said and emphasised his “outsider” credentials in Lutyens’ Delhi. “I could not make Lutyens’ world a part of me... I am a representative of the non-elite world... There is honesty in my work, I work for the people.”
Modi also addressed BJP’s failures in the recent polls to five state assemblies, remarking that while Chhattisgarh was a loss, MP and Rajasthan had hung houses. “Secondly, 15 years of anti-incumbency was being fought by our people. We are discussing what was lacking.”
He attacked Congress as a party that promoted casteism, dynastic politics and nepotism. On being asked about several high-profile accused still walking free despite his promise of a crackdown on corruption, the PM said, “They are on bail... it is a fact that those considered the first family, who ran the country for four generations, are out on bail, that too for financial irregularities.”
Modi sought to beat back opposition attacks that the country was slipping and the government had under-performed. He pointed to gains like electrification of villages, launch of Ayushman Bharat, a UN award for climate change redressal and gains in the field of sports and Isro’s feat in placing 100 satellites in orbit.
On criticism that demonetisation was a shock to the system, Modi said it was first necessary to consider whether the measure was needed. “This wasn’t a jhatka. We had warned people a year in advance that we have a scheme wherein if you have such wealth, you can deposit it... This process took one year... This was necessary for the economic health of the country.” He admitted that demonetisation slowed growth, saying this was the result of a change in process. “In the railways, if a bogey changes track, there is a change in speed... Even when Manmohan Singh was FM and reforms were introduced, GDP fell... to approximately less than 2%,” he said. Strongly defending GST, he said it had sharply reduced incidence of taxation and the need to pay cascading taxes that went as high as 30-40%.
He repeated his recent criticism of Congress’s loan waiver offers as “lollipops” and said a very small section of farmers benefited.
On cow vigilantism and lynchings, Modi said, “No such incident reflects well on a civilised society. This is wrong and condemnable.”
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