Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Monday said the BJP was not desperate for entering into an alliance with any party, be it in Tamil Nadu or at the national level, as the party stood on its feet “with the undisputed popularity and leadership” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He said this in response to a series of questions about the restraint BJP had shown in responding to AIADMK’s unilateral separation from its alliance and whether that indicated that the window for rapprochement was still open. Commenting on the lines of the party’s non-committal stance on the matter, Mr. Goyal, while stressing that his party was not desperate for alliance, also remarked that everyone heard that phrase that “air is pregnant with possibilities”.
In an interaction with a group of journalists during his three-day visit to Chennai to attend the Global Investors Meet and a number of Viksit Bharat programmes, he said except for certain parties like the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal with which the BJP had never worked together, alliance with all other parties was a possibility since “life was full of possibilities”.
When asked if the BJP felt it had reached a stage in Tamil Nadu where it did not need the support of other parties, he said the party was progressing well in the State. He added that the party’s State president K. Annamalai’s En Mann En Makkal yatra was a huge success and the leader had gained an “enviable and popular fan base”. He said that the people of Tamil Nadu were looking for fresh leadership as the traditional politics, which once had its relevance, had lost its charm.
Export
He said that India’s exports in the present financial year would exceed the country’s previous year’s value of $776 billion despite various constraints. He recalled how the exports, which remained fairly constant for a decade, had grown 55% from $500 billion to $776 billion in two years.
He said the worth of exports prevented due to restrictions on different items like sugar, rice and tyres were $ 12 billion and could reach $20 billion by the end of the financial year. He said this measure was needed in the interest of controlling inflation and other considerations for the Indian market.
Published - January 08, 2024 09:39 pm IST
