A day after the GST Council lowered GST rates on as many as 178 items, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the pressure applied by the people on the government had worked.
During his campaign tours as part of his three-day Navsarjan Yatra in north Gujarat, Mr. Gandhi said that even after the changes, the GST remained a complex, multi-tiered tax structure with inherent “anti-business and anti-people” tax slabs.
“India does not need a Gabbar Singh Tax. We want a true GST. Congress, along with the people of India, fought for and ensured reduction in items in the 28% bracket. Next we will fight for one rate, with a cap at 18%. If BJP doesn’t do it, Congress will,” Mr. Gandhi said addressing election meetings in several villages and towns in the north Gujarat region that will go to the polls in the second phase on December 14.
Before embarking on his campaign, Mr. Gandhi offered prayers at the renowned Akshardham Temple in Gandhinagar, which also hosted Prime Minister Narendra Modi during its silver jubilee celebrations.
At every public meeting during the Navsarjan yatra, Mr Gandhi has consistently been attacking the NDA government over high GST rates, demonetisation and the government’s economic performance. On Saturday, he reiterated his charges.
Reminding the public of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election promise of providing two crore jobs annually, Mr. Gandhi said jobs under the Modi administration “disappeared even before they were created”.
“Modi ji and BJP told you there will be money, it didn’t happen. They told you there will be jobs, it didn’t happen. Where are the two crore jobs that were promised by Modi ji,” he asked a huge crowd in Idar town.
He also spoke on the increasing privatisation of health sector and said education had become unaffordable to the lower and middle classes.
