New Delhi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that states need to work together for what he calls a vision to create a “New India” while addressing a meeting of the Niti Aayog’s governing council that was skipped by chief ministers Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal — two of his staunchest critics.
The Niti Aayog is the country’s top-most policy making body, and its governing council has among its members the Prime Minister and all chief ministers of the country.
Sunday’s meeting was called to discuss a ‘15-year vision document’ that would lay down the roadmap for India’s growth, economically and socially. “The Niti Aayog is working on a 15-year-long term vision, 7-year medium term strategy, and 3-year action agenda…This effort needs support of states,” the PMO quoted Modi as saying in his opening statement.
The country is trying to push its GDP growth to upwards of 7.5% after it slipped to 7.1% in 2016-17 from 7.9% a year ago due to the demonetisation drive in November last.
Among those efforts is the rollout of a new indirect taxation regime, the GST, which the PM referred to on Sunday to drive home his point about federal cooperation. “Consensus on GST will go down in history as a great illustration of cooperative federalism,” Modi said, adding, “GST reflects the spirit of one nation, one aspiration, one determination.”
The PM also called for discussions on a plan to hold simultaneous parliamentary and state elections.
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