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Gandhiji called himself ‘baniya’, naamdars call traders ‘chor’: PM Modi
Congress president Rahul Gandhi, for whom PM Modi uses the ‘naamdar’ jibe in public speeches, has attacked the government, accusing it of helping the fugitive businessmen in escaping the rule of law after committing alleged fraud.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi renewed attack on the Congress on Friday while seeking support of the traders’ community for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Lok Sabha elections at a national convention of traders in New Delhi.
“The naamdars of the Congress don’t see anything except themselves. Gandhiji called himself a baniya (trader) with pride. But the naamdars of the Congress brand all the businessmen as chor (thieves). Today’s Congress doesn’t know about history. The naamdars don’t know about the traders’ contribution to the progress of the country,” said PM Modi at the national convention of traders.
This was a veiled reference to the Congress’ campaign against the Modi government linking it with fugitive businessmen including Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya and Mehul Choksi. Congress president Rahul Gandhi, for whom PM Modi uses the ‘naamdar’ jibe in public speeches, has attacked the government, accusing it of helping the fugitive businessmen in escaping the rule of law after committing alleged fraud.
The prime minister said the previous governments under the Congress created an impression that traders were “thieves”, which hurt the self-respect of the community.
At the event organised by the Confederation of All India Traders, PM Modi said, “You (traders) are the biggest stakeholders in the development of the country.”
The prime minister spoke about the goods and services tax (GST) at length at the meet in a bid to address the concerns of the traders following the roll-out of the new indirect tax regime in July 2017. He said, “GST has brought transparency in trade. This is why the number of registered traders has doubled. Revenue of the states has doubled.”
“The GST Council works on your suggestions. Earlier we had to wait for one budget to the next budget now concerns of traders are addressed in two months,” said PM Modi, adding, “After GST roll-out, children of traders are sticking to the family business ducking the trend of looking for new avenues.”
PM Modi promised to create a traders’ welfare board and introduce traders’ credit card if the party is voted to power. He also announced a scheme for the traders registered under the GST regime. The beneficiary would be entitled for accidental insurance of up to ₹10 lakh.
PM Modi also listed out the achievements of the government in the last five years at a traders meet in New Delhi on Friday. He said every day 70,000 women are getting LPG connection under Ujjwala scheme.
