Under attack from the Opposition over rising fuel prices, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal asserted that the government would not allow itself to react in a “knee-jerk” manner on the issue as any move made in haste could potentially end up harming the economy by pushing up inflation and worsening the fiscal deficit.
Speaking at a press conference at the BJP’s headquarters in New Delhi, Mr. Goyal said that the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was keen on sustainable solutions rather than “Band-Aid” ones. A decision taken to solve a specific issue may cause more harm than provide benefit, he said, adding that the retail inflation rate was 4.17% in July, while it had been more than 10% during the UPA government’s time.
‘Long-term policy’
Referring to a suggestion for a White Paper on non-performing assets (NPAs) when the government had just assumed office, Mr. Goyal said: “At that time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley took the sensible decision of not doing so but [instead] addressing the long-term policy architecture, including the clearing of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), the Benami Properties Act and the Fugutives Offenders Act.”
The government had for the first time brought “big people” down to their knees by forcing them to pay their debts or face the heat of the law, Mr. Goyal said.
‘Rupee’s fall not so big’
He also sought to make light of the Opposition’s criticism over the relentless fall in the value of rupee by claiming that the real fall in the Indian currency was not more than ₹3 compared with its value of 68.86 during the UPA’s tenure. Mr. Goyal also accused the Congress of misleading people by spreading lies and took a dig at party president Rahul Gandhi, saying he had little understanding of the issues of potato and onion and was unlikely to know any better of the economy.
‘Flop show’
He referred to Monday’s “Bharat bandh” , called by the Opposition against rising fuel prices, as a “flop show” indicating that people knew what was good for the country and for them.
The economy, Mr. Goyal said, was experiencing its best period under the government led by Mr. Modi, who had been decisive, honest and worked relentlessly for the poor.
