Finance minister Arun Jaitley said Monday that the BJP’s defeat in the Bihar elections will not impact the reforms process in the country. “I don’t see it as a setback to the economy...
Finance minister Arun Jaitley said Monday that the BJP’s defeat in the Bihar elections will not impact the reforms process in the country. “I don’t see it as a setback to the economy... Structural reforms will continue. They should continue at a rapid pace,” he said.
Mr Jaitley said the government would continue reforms by taking executive action and also in the Budget, that will be announced in February next year. “The poll impact won’t deter investor confidence and sentiment... I think investors are very wise people, they will see the performance of this government. They will judge us by our working style and we will provide good governance. Many reforms are with executive decisions. Those will continue. Many legislative issues also get passed by Parliament. In some cases, there are delays, those will be sorted out,” he said.
On the Goods and Services Tax bill, finance minister Arun Jaitley hoped that Bihar, a consuming state, would support the legislation. “I don’t see (Bihar poll outcome) as a setback to the economy at all. If under Nitish Kumar, Bihar grows and grows well, we have already announced an economic package for the state, certainly we are going to help. Our commitment is to states which need to develop more... we have to help them more,” Mr Jaitley said.
He said GST was a priority for the government and it will try to get it passed. “Bihar and the JD(U) supported this in the Lower House... If Nitish Kumar, as a responsible leader, has been elected on the plank of development, then certainly he wants more revenue for Bihar...,” Mr Jaitley said. Asked if he would talk to Nitish Kumar seeking his support for the GST Bill, Mr Jaitley said: “I will speak to the new government that they should support the bill.”
