'National Herald Case is Prima Facie Very Strong': Arun Jaitley to NDTV

New Delhi: The Congress had slowed down the economy when it was in the government, it should not slow down the economy when it is in the Opposition, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told NDTV.

He also said the National Herald case, involving Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Vice-president Rahul Gandhi, is prima facie a very strong case. Here are the highlights.

• The National Herald case is prima facie a very strong case.
• There is no truth to media reports of an Enforcement Directorate inquiry in the National Herald Case.
• A political party can't benefit from tax exemption and then become a property company.
• By stalling the Insurance Bill, the Congress is stalling the economy.
• I have given the Congress three options - accept, reject or amend the Insurance Bill.
• The Congress can score political brownie points with me but not with India.
• No protracted delay on Insurance Bill; it can be passed in a joint sitting of Parliament.
• Unlike the Left which has an ideological position against this, the Congress has always supported it.
• We want to grow faster, India is entitled to do much better.
  
• They just want it to be stalled, they want the Indian economy to be stalled. If that is the Congress party position, then I am afraid they are not being well advised.
• I have asked them to explain to me the grey areas for which they need a select panel.
  
• If India had not taken a firm stand at WTO, our subsistence farmers would have suffered.
• Isolation doesn't matter at WTO; sometimes you can be the only one taking the right stand.
• If we don't offer the minimum support prices that we do, farmer suicides will increase. The suicides you hear of will be in lakhs.
• Western countries subsidise their farmers.
• There is no problem in agreeing to a trade facilitation agreement but not to the subsidy clause. There are many instances in history where India has stood up to big powers. Foreign policy and trade policy need not go hand in hand.
• Our party has serious reservations about multi-brand retail. It is there in very small quantity, we can afford to look the other way.
  
• FDI in retail will hurt our manufacturing sector.
  
• No contradiction in pro-business stand and pro-poor stance. We have to earn enough to service the social sector.
  
• Not the least fond of retrospective tax; my government doesn't believe in taxing retrospectively.
  
• Our decision on the UPSC issue is a balancing act.
• Basic English level proficiency will still have to be cleared by IAS aspirants in the main exams.
• The decision on UPSC was taken to avoid the language agitation from spreading.
• The Congress created the UPSC problem in 2011, so why is Rahul Gandhi meeting protesters today?
• It was the AAP that first went to the Delhi Lieutenant Governor and asked for time to form the government.
• The AAP is not in a position to lecture us on political morality.
• The AAP has some popularity in Delhi, but it remains an adventurist party.
• It is for the Lieutenant Governor to decide when to call elections in Delhi. The Lieutenant Governor is entitled to give the political process a reasonable period of time.
• Will serve as Defence and Finance Minister as long as the PM wants me to.
• Ceasefire violations are a major irritant in India-Pakistan relations.
• Foreign secretary-levels talks are only the beginning. For high-level talks, the environment has to be conducive.
• We have no authentic evidence on snooping on Nitin Gadkari.
• Ministers are working hard and are on the right track. We are in a better India today.
  
• The economy is showing the first signs of turning around.
• A Prime Minister can't speak on everything every day. A PM's interviews have to be meaningful and restricted.
  
• Don't judge us by stray incidents like the Goa minister's comment, judge us by what the mainstream players are doing.