Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday announced a new financial model for small and medium businesses and industries with a special focus on backward classes, dalits, adivasis and the poor, who will benefit from this.
Rahul Gandhi, who is in Jharkhand with his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, also said that the GST will be modified as it in its current shape, along with the demonetisation, had destroyed the 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, the Congress leader said that except for Nitish Kumar who had left the INDIA bloc, the alliance was intact. He said the seat-sharing issues were being discussed and will be resolved soon.
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 that while protecting the reservation rights of the dalits and adivasis, the 50 per cent cap will be removed.
Hinting to include in reservations the economically weaker sections from the general category, he said, they will also not be left out and will also be benefitted.
Rahul Gandhi reiterated his commitment that a caste census will be done in the country to find out the exact status of various castes. He said, Telangana Chief Minister who participated in the Yatra recently had told him that it would soon be started in his state.
Gandhi disclosed that the Congress-led UPA government had done a caste survey, whose report was not released, which should have been released. He asked the Prime Minister to release that survey report.
Gandhi observed that the demonetisation and the GST in its current form had destroyed the small and medium industries. He said, the alliance government will bring in a new financial plan for the small and medium business with a special focus on the backward classes, the dalits, adivasis and the poor.
Gandhi said, they cannot do anything about the demonetisation, done by the Prime Minister Modi long ago, now, but they will change the GST.
To a question on the change of Chief Minister in Jharkhand the Congress leader said, this is a fact of politics in India today that the agencies like the ED, the CBI and the Income Tax are being misused to attack the opposition leaders. He said the BJP tried to remove the existing government but they (the JMM and the Congress) did not let it happen.
But, he added, institutions like the Election Commission of India, various investigating agencies, the bureaucracy and the police were being misused against the opposition parties and their leaders.
