We’ll take States on board on taxes

• Modi throws light on his economic agenda
• Vows to be pro-people, yet business-friendly
• To take FDI decisions case-by-case
• Determined to roll out GST across country

New Delhi: Unveiling his economic agenda, BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi has said that his government would be pro-people and take care of the Indian business interests. His government would have a holistic approach towards the FDI and take States on board on the issue of Sales Tax and GST. Brimming with confidence of coming to power at the Centre, Modi spoke for the first time on the economic policy. All along Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram has been daring him to spell out his economic policy. Keeping his cool, a confident Modi spoke on a range of key economic issues like FDI, GST (goods and services tax), privatization of PSUs, subsidies and crony capitalism.

In an interview with a TV channel, Modi gave emphasis to protect the manufacturing sector. "We have to protect the manufacturing sector of India. If we are unable to protect manufacturing sector and small-scale industries, then our youth's future will be destroyed," he claimed. On GST, Modi asserted that the BJP is in favour of it. When Pranab Mukherjee was the Finance Minister, he had a detailed discussion with him. He said that the success of the GST did not lie in passing the Bill but on completing the IT networking which was very essential. He emphasized the need to take the States into confidence on the issue. He said that the Congress failed in its endeavour while the BJP is determined to roll out GST.

Speaking on the agenda of privatization, Modi said that the decision will be taken on a “case-to-case” basis. It should not be a political decision but taken on a professional basis. He was of the view that the employees in the PSUs should also be taken on board before taking a decision. If desired, they should be given a free hand to strengthen the PSUs, while the government should keep its hands off. He said, "PSUs should be allowed to recover from their debts. They should not be branded as loss-making entities.

In reply to another query, the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate did not agree that he could show signs of improvement just in a few days."There is no 100-day model of governance, take stock of our economic policies after 5 years," he said, appealing the people to give him a mandate for a full term. Talking about FDI, Modi said that the BJP was against FDI in retail. He, however, favoured it in the manufacturing sector, saying that they should have a holistic approach on the issue. He assured that India's manufacturing sector would be given sops to encourage its growth. "We will not reduce subsidies and no crony capitalism will be tolerated," he said, adding that he wanted to maintain an honest relationship with the corporate sector debunking the charge that he was pro-corporates. Modi claimed that he would never indulge in vote-bank politics even if it meant losing the elections. He said that in the name of secularism, the country has been divided. “We are fellow citizens and that is my firm belief. I have succeeded in Gujarat and I will succeed in India,” he asserted.