"No U-Turns By Modi Government, Only Responsiveness": Piyush Goyal Exclusive

Mr Goyal's pushback also followed fierce criticism from the Congress last month over the contentious Unified Pension Scheme, or UPS, which will be implemented from April 1 next year.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal hit out at a "despondent (and) frustrated" opposition amid criticism that the third term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a "government of U-turns". Mr Goyal declared to NDTV "there is absolutely no U-turn... except responsiveness to the people of India".

"I think the opposition is so despondent... so frustrated... that they are criticising us in foreign countries (referring to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's comments during events in the United States this month), never mind in India. And I think there can be nothing more shameful," he said.

"We have had no U-turns..." he stressed, "This is a listening government. Prime Minister Modi is respected and loved by the people because he has his ears to the ground and responds positively."