Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said it was good that the Modi government had been pressurized to slash the Goods and Services Tax (GST) by three quarters, and added that India doesn't want five different slabs of GST, but one single tax. He demanded structural reform in the present GST.
Rahul Gandhi, who is on his fourth visit to Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP national president Amit Shah, said the decision to slash the GST by three quarters was a good one. "It is good that the Congress party and the people of this country pressurised BJP to bring down many items from 28 per cent bracket to
18 per cent. However, we are not happy and we shall not stop. India does not need five different taxes but one tax. GST needs structural change."
The state goes to polls next month on December 9 and 14. Gandhi, who is visiting north Gujarat, the BJP bastion over the years, is on a three-day visit to the state.
Alpesh Thakore, leader of the Other Backward Castes (OBC), Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST), OSS Ekta Manch, who has been inducted in the grand old party's Gujarat unit, is accompanying Gandhi during his visit.
Thakore said at a gathering in Prantij, "BJP will scare you, fool you. Then Modiji will come, cry for Gujarat pride. Don't get carried away this time."
At other places during his visit to the places in the region like Idar and Himmatnagar, Gandhi continued his attacks on Prime Minister Modi over Amit Shah's son Jay's company allegedly registering 16,000 turnover in one year. He said, "Modiji Kuch Toh Boliye (Modiji, please say something)."
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He said, "The government which can tell the people of the country at 8 p.m. that their currency will turn into scrap in just four hours, doesn't know what's in the hearts of the people. We gave Rs 35,000 crore for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Agency (MNREGA), but Modi gave Rs 35,000 crore to Tata Nano project."
While Rahul Gandhi's bus was entering Himmatnagar for the meeting, a group of 10-12 youngsters came bearing black flags to oppose his visit, but they just managed to do just that while the bus moved on.
During this visit to the north Gujarat, Gandhi will visit 19 of the state assembly seats. Out of these, at present, 10 are held by the Congress while the rest nine are with the BJP. There are total 32 assembly seats in north Gujarat, where during the last assembly elections, the Congress won 18 and the rest 14 were captured by the saffron party.
In the morning, Rahul Gandhi began his tour of north Gujarat by praying at the revered Akshardham temple, an unscheduled change in his plan, and visited the Patidar-dominated villages of the region.
He was warmly welcomed in the Patidar-dominated village of Majra with slogans of 'Jay Sardar' on his arrival. Gandhi sported a 'Patidar' cap during his visit to the village.
The All India Congress Committee (AICC) Vice President went on his scheduled visits of Chiloda and other places. On his way to Sabarkantha district, he stopped at a roadside 'dhaba' where he enjoyed the traditional dishes of Gujarat, like 'fafda' and 'gota'.
People turned up in huge numbers to have a look at the Gandhi scion.
In his corner meting at Chiloda, Gandhi emphasized on the role of women in election.
Earlier, on his arrival at Ahmedabad airport, talking to the media Gandhi said, "The people of Gujarat are unhappy with the present government, especially after the twin blows of demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) implementation."
--IANS
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