Arun Jaitley
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said that sound policy and not slogans will help in alleviating poverty and fulfilling aspirations of people of India.
The finance minister’s remark was in apparent reference to the Congress-led opposition which has been pressurising the government for waiving loans of farmers.
Jaitley further said that slogans have transient life and people soon realise that they cannot be implemented.
There is an obvious debate on whether sound policy pays more or slogans pay more, he said after the release of ‘Strategy for New India @75’ prepared by Niti Aayog.
“In democracy these debates will always arise...The aspirational people who have high level of aspiration and very low level of patience now will point out on day two or day three about the inability to convert slogans into reality,” Jaitley said.
However, he said, “sound policy will always put economy on track in which it will get perpetually people out of poverty and give them better quality of life.”
Congress President Rahul Gandhi Tuesday said his party and other opposition parties would force Prime Minister Narendra Modi to waive farmer loans, and that the Congress will do it after 2019 general election if the Modi government failed to act immediately.
“The course we have adopted is now gradually perfected itself with Indian model in which you grow faster, you utilise the resource of the state in order to pull out millions of people out of poverty, give them better quality of life...each decision is really aimed in this direction,” Jaitley said.
“Historically we have squandered several opportunities. Fortunately, we are on the cusp of making history wherein the last few decades India has started making full utilisation of those opportunities and that seems to be the course to go ahead,” he added.
About Niti Aayog’s strategy document, he said it will be fruitful for the government.
The document aims to accelerate GDP growth to 8 per cent and propel the country towards a USD 5-trillion economy by 2030.
“The overarching focus of the strategy document is to further improve the policy environment in which private investors and other stakeholders can contribute their fullest towards achieving the goals set out for New India 2022 and propel India towards a USD 5-trillion economy by 2030,” it said.
(With PTI inputs)
