Coimbatore, Jan 23 (UNI) Observing that small and medium industry
was the backbone of job creation in the country, former Congress
President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said without unclogging the
banking system, giving MSMEs protection and incentives for job
creation, the Indian economic system would not move forward.
Interacting with the representatives of MSMEs as part of his
three-day Assembly polls campaign in this Textile city, he said
'in my mind: the future of India and any competition we want
to win with China, Bangladesh or others is through the MSMEs'.
He said the government's mindset should be that the success of
India depends on the MSMEs.
'But we see pictures of the Prime Minister with the largest
industrialists. Have you seen his pictures with small and
medium industrialists?', he asked.
'I think small and medium industry is the backbone of job
creation', he said.
'If you ask most people, they talk to you about large companies,
about the commanding heights, but the people who actually do
the homework, actually get the jobs are MSMEs', he added.
Stating that he had come here to interact and have a conversation
about MSMEs, what there were thinking and what the future of Tamil
Nadu could be, Mr Rahul said the biggest supporters of GST were
large businesses.
'There is a reason behind it. GST as it is currently designed is
designed to help them and not MSMEs', he said, adding, the
GST by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government was
not only a question of bad implementation but strategically
done to weaken the small and medium industries.
Noting that the GST conceptualised by the previous Congress-led
UPA government was very simple--One Tax, Minimum Tax, Mr Rahul
said when Mr Modi became the Prime Minister he decided to bypass
the bulk of the negotiations and super-imposed this GST, without
doing the homework for One Tax, Minimum Tax.
'This GST regime will simply not work. It will impose huge load
on MSMEs and cripple our economic system', he said and promised
that 'when UPA comes to power in Delhi, we will restructure the
GST and give you- One Tax, Minimum Tax'.
Mr Rahul said the current BJP-led NDA dispensation in Delhi does
not believe in negotiations, listening, and conversation.
Hence, it was practically impossible for them to come up with a
solution to the GST problem, which lies with the people of India,
he said.
Sharpening his attack on the Centre, Rahul said India was unable
to provide jobs as the economy has been devastated. 'What used
to be successful is now a disaster and we will not be able to get out
of this anytime soon, because the government is simply not interested
in listening to citizens.'.
Referring the more than 50-day long agitation by farmers against
the three Farm laws, Rahul said the massive protests that were
happening across India was because there was an attempt to
impose one idea, one ideology on this country.
'If you talk to the people of India with respect and kindness,
they will respond with kindness, love and affection', he said,
adding, but the outcome of Mr Modi government's policy was
to crush people’s hopes and needs and work only for a few
crony capitalists.
UNI GV 1600