Former BJP president Nitin Gadkari on Saturday vowed to simplify the existing tax system and bring judicial, administrative and educational reforms in the country if the BJP was voted to power in the upcoming General Elections.
Outlining the BJP’s vision document at the two-day National Council meet in the Capital, Gadkari also promised to diversify the agriculture sector towards fulfilling the country’s energy and petroleum needs. Discussing the economic resolution adopted by the Council at the Ramlila Ground, Gadkari emphasised on improving infrastructure, commerce, agriculture and defence sectors.
Gadkari lamented that the existing taxation system was ambiguous and needed to be rationalised. He, however, made no obvious comment on abolishing the income tax; a move being seen as a way to win urban and middle-class votes. He said the BJP would explore possibilities to rid people of taxes on each and every service. Slow pace of infrastructure development in the country was another focus of the BJP leader, who said it had come to a standstill during the last 10 years of the Congress-led UPA regime. This, he maintained, resulted in large-scale unemployment and was the main cause of the dwindling economy. He also promised prompt action on bringing back black money stashed in foreign banks to India and declare them national assets.
“The growth rate of the country has hit an all-time low and the infrastructure development has been stalled. Instead of creating new jobs, people have been losing their jobs. The BJP will ensure maximum participation of the private sector in infrastructure project that has the potential of generating employment,” said Gadkari, who heads the BJP’s committee for preparing vision document for the lok Sabha Polls. “Wrong policies, corrupt practices and visionless leadership of the UPA Government have brought the economy on the verge of collapse. The BJP will ensure development and governance with the help of e-governance,” he said. He highlighted the deteriorating condition of the banking sector with the rising NPAs to the tune of Rs 1.5 lakh crore.
Earlier, bringing the resolution in the council meet, leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley led a scathing attack on the UPA Government for uncontrolled inflation, joblessness and downfall in the manufacturing sector. He rued that despite 60 per cent of India’s population involved in agriculture, it was contributing only 16 per cent of the country’s GDP. “The input cost of agriculture is on high forcing the farmers to commit suicide. Investment is no longer an attraction of Indian economy. The last won decade has been a wasted opportunity for the country,” Jaitley said. He struck a comparison between the present UPA Government and the BJP-led NDA Government saying while the NDA achieved 11 km of road building per day, the same has drastically come down to 2 km per day.
Veteran BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi termed the UPA regime as a ‘decade of economic disaster’. He said poor economy of the country was the cause of all crises which includes the increasing crime graph. He accused the Centre of compromising with nation’s internal and external security.