Union Minister Nitin Gadkari clarified as to why he asked Nirmala Sitharaman not to hold back Chinese imports at the Indian ports after many complained of BJP's doublespeak on boycotting China products.
Nitin Gadkari told in an interview that he had written a letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, request them not hold back the Chinese goods at Indian ports. The Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways said holding back Chinese imports which have been paid for, would impact Indian businessmen.
There are some constraints but we will resolve this issue
"I have written a letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal apprising them of this issue. If we stop consignment at Indian ports, it will only impact Indian businessmen. So, if we want to stop imports from China then we should increase the duty. There are some constraints but we will resolve this issue," Nitin Gadkari told in an interview to The Quint.
In the backdrop of the India-China border standoff, the BJP announced to boycott Chinese goods to teach a lesson to China. Many people are spreading this message on social media. With Nitin Gadkari asking not to hold back the Chinese imports, those people were furious on BJP's doublespeak on boycotting China products. They started trolling the party.
A netizen named TanRaj (@Tanraj58) wrote, "Just see the doublespeak of Govt on #BoycottChina. Can India become Atmnirbhar by following such principles of allowing Chinese imports and BJP persons expecting people of India to discard Chinese goods? God knows the true definition of Modi's AtmNirbhar Bharat."
'I am among the strongest proponents of Aatmanirbhar Bharat'
After seeing the flood of these hate messages, Nitin Gadkari took to his Twitter account to clear the air. The Union Minister tweeted, "I am among the strongest proponents of Aatmanirbhar Bharat. Anyone who is even slightly acquainted with me would know about my passion and work towards supporting as well as encouraging Make in India."
Talking about his comment, Nitin Gadkari added, "With regard to stopping of goods on Indian ports, it was purely context-specific, in reply to one very specific question by the anchor. Later, I have also discovered that there was no arbitrary stopping of goods!"
Nitin Gadkari concluded, "Indian business has the strength and skills to grow further and power our journey towards self-reliance. Under the strong leadership of PM @narendramodi, the Government of India is proactive and initiating path-breaking reforms that will help businesses and MSMEs."
