Govt, Political Parties Must Stay out of Judicial Crisis: PM Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the government and political parties must stay out of the unprecedented judicial crisis, gave enough indications that the upcoming Budget may not be populist and asserted his poll slogan of "Congress-free India" was not aimed at eliminating the party politically.

In an interview to a TV channel, Modi also said he is open to more changes in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to plug loopholes and make it a more efficient tax, six months after the roll-out and dozens of changes.

He also said how attempts were made to sabotage the country's most ambitious tax reform since Independence and attacked those opposing the GST, saying they were "insulting" Parliament.

Asked about the crisis in the Supreme Court after the four senior most judges came out to openly criticise allocation of sensitive cases by the chief justice, Modi said, "I think I should stay away from this debate. The government must also stay away. The political parties must also keep out of it."

In his first public remarks on the unprecedented crisis that rocked the Supreme Court since the January 12 press conference by the four judges, the prime minister expressed confidence that the judiciary will sit together to find a solution to its problems.

"Our country's judiciary has a very bright past, they are very capable people. They will sit together and find a solution to their problems. I have faith in our justice system, they will definitely figure out a solution," he said.

Acknowledging farm distress, he said it was the responsibility of the Centre and the state governments to identify and address farmers' issues.

On the foreign policy front, Modi rejected the notion that India was putting "so much hard work" to isolate Pakistan, asserting that his efforts were aimed at uniting the world powers to defeat terrorism as his country has been suffering from the scourge since decades.

He said the suggestion that the country's foreign policy was based on Pakistan was wrong but stressed that the world was uniting against those sympathetic towards terrorists, an apparent reference to the neighbouring country.