Davangere: Blaming the note ban and a flawed GST for the country's economic slowdown, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said jobs were created by small and medium companies and not by the country's top industrial tycoons.
"The Congress believes that jobs are created by small and medium companies and not by top 15-20 firms run by tycoons, who have direct access to the country's Finance Minister and Prime Minister," he said at an interaction with traders and small businessmen in Karnataka's textile town here.
Gandhi is on a two-day visit to the southern state for participating in the fifth leg of the party's 'Jan Ashirvada Yatra' to seek the people's blessings for victory in the May 12 Karnataka assembly election.
Claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a very simplistic vision of the world, he said the former thought small traders were bad while income tax officials good.
Accusing the BJP-led NDA government of using the Goods and Services Tax (GST) scheme as an instrument of oppression than of freedom, Gandhi said the new indirect tax regime was envisioned to have one slab, exempting goods and services used by the poor from it.
"But the GST we have is completely different from what was envisioned."
Regretting that the Modi government viewed the informal sector as an evil, he said the country should utilise its strength, as the bulk of business in India was informal.
"Digital economy can harm or help the country, depending on how policies to utilise it are framed," he told the traders at the meeting.
Noting that the people's voices were not being heard by the present-day political system, Gandhi said top companies, however, had open access to it to change or tweak the law to suit their interests.
"When the Congress returns to power after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, I assure you that the people will have access to the system again, because we believe policies should be made in consultation with the people and not with an individual," he reiterated.
Recollecting that former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan had advised Modi not to demonetise higher currency notes, Gandhi said the Finance Minister, Chief Economic Adviser and the Union Cabinet were unaware of the sudden move to ban the old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.
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Mumbai, Jul 25 (PTI): Police have opposed the bail plea of the Bangladeshi national arrested for allegedly stabbing Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan with a knife and injuring him at his home here in January this year, telling a Mumbai court there was "strong evidence" against the accused.
Citing a Forensic Science Laboratory report, police reiterated before the sessions court their earlier claim knife fragments that got lodged near the actor's spine during the attack as well as a part found at the crime spot have matched with the weapon recovered from the accused, Shariful Islam.
These three pieces were part of the same weapon (knife) used to attack the filmstar, the police said in a written response to the accused's plea submitted in the court on Thursday (July 24).
Khan was repeatedly stabbed with a knife by an intruder inside his 12th floor apartment in upscale Bandra on January 16 during a robbery attempt.
The 54-year-old actor underwent surgery at Lilavati Hospital to remove a piece of knife that got lodged near his spine during the attack. He was discharged from the private hospital after five days.
Shariful Islam, a Bangladeshi national, was arrested two days later for allegedly stabbing Khan.
The police, in their response, highlighted that the accused is a Bangladeshi citizen residing illegally in India.
If granted bail, there was a possibility that he may flee India and not appear before the court during the trial. The crime committed by the accused is of a "very serious nature, and strong evidence" is available against him, they argued.
In his bail plea, filed through advocate Vipul Dushing, the accused asserted he was innocent and had no prior criminal record.
Investigation into the case has practically concluded with only the filing of a chargesheet pending, the accused contended while seeking bail.
The alleged attacker has been booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections related to house trespass, robbery and dacoity with attempt to cause death or grievous injury.