Rahul promises new financial model for SMEs, modified GST

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday (February 6) announced a new financial model for small and medium business and industries with a special focus on backward classes, the Dalits, the Adivasis, and the poor, if the Congress wins the Lok Sabha election.

Rahul also claimed the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will be modified because in its current form, it has, along with demonetisation, “completely destroyed small and medium industries” in the country.

Addressing a press conference on the 24th day of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Jharkhand’s Gumla, Rahul said that except for Nitish Kumar, who had left the INDIA bloc, the alliance was intact. He said seat-sharing issues were being discussed and will be resolved soon.

“50 per cent reservation cap unfair”

Replying to a question on removing the 50 per cent cap on reservation, the former Congress president said it was an artificial and unfair cap. He said while protecting the reservation rights of the Dalits and Adivasis, the 50 per cent cap will be removed.

Hinting at including in reservations the economically weaker sections from the general category, he said they will also not be left out and will also be benefitted.

Caste census

Rahul reiterated his commitment that caste census will be conducted in the country to find out the exact status of various castes. He said Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, who participated in the Yatra recently, had told him that it will soon be started in his state.

He disclosed that the Congress-led UPA government had conducted a caste survey, whose report was not released, but it should have been. He asked the Prime Minister to release that survey report.

Demonetisation and GST

Rahul observed that demonetisation and the GST in its current form had completely destroyed small and medium industries. He said nothing can be done now about demonetisation, engineered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi several years ago, but Congress will change the provisions of GST.

To a question on the change of Chief Minister in Jharkhand, the Congress leader said it is a political fact in India today that agencies like the ED, the CBI, and the Income Tax Department are being misused to attack Opposition leaders. “The BJP tried to remove the existing government but they (the JMM and the Congress) did not let it happen,” he said.

Not only the investigating agencies, even institutions like the Election Commission of India, the bureaucracy, and the police were being misused against the Opposition parties and their leaders, Rahul said.