Press Trust of India
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Washington, May 26: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said he expects the long-pending GST bill to get the Parliamentary nod this year while efforts to amend another contentious legislation on land acquisition are “over now”. Modi also hit out at critics who accuse him of failing to pursue “big bang” measures to revamp the Indian economy, saying his government has undertaken maximum reforms since coming to power in May 2014.
He said that many of the changes he has put in place would have been regarded by previous administrations as difficult to implement, but now that he has done them, to his critics they no longer qualify as “big bang”. “I have actually undertaken the maximum reforms,” Modi told The Wall Street Journal in an interview ahead of his visit to the US next month at the invitation of President Barack Obama. Responding to a question on Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill, Modi said he expects the legislation to pass this year. The GST bill, which has been approved by Lok Sabha, is pending in Rajya Sabha because of stiff resistance by Congress, the largest party in the House. Government has been insisting that most of the parties, except Congress, are in favour of GST, which will bring about a uniform indirect taxation regime in the country. He said the efforts to amend the land acquisition law at the federal level were “over now” and it is now up to individual states to pursue changes.
Modi said he would look to states to further liberalise the country’s rigid labour laws, the daily reported. “Labour reform should not just mean in the interest of industry,” he said adding, “Labour reform should also be in the interest of the labourer.” “When I came to the government, I used to sit down with all the experts and ask them to define for me what is the ‘big bang’ for them,” he said, adding “Nobody could tell me.” But at the same time he was quick to add that there was a need to do more. “I have an enormous task ahead for myself,” Modi said.
