In Gujarat, Rahul reaches out to Patels, Dalits, OBCs
GANDHINAGAR: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday over the state of the economy and allegations of political bribery even as he tried to reach out to opposition leaders in poll-bound Gujarat.
At a rally in Gandhinagar, Gandhi repeatedly praised Patel leader Hardik Patel and Dalit leader Jignesh Mewani, two antiBJP figures whose support is crucial for his party.
There was confusion over whether Gandhi met Patel. The Patel leader’s aides denied the two met. A meeting between Gandhi and Mewani, the leader of the state’s Dalits that make up 7% of the population, was also cancelled.
The 47-year-old Gandhi, whose campaign received a boost with Other Backward Classes (OBC) leader Alpesh Thakor formally joining the Congress on Monday, also touched upon allegations leveled by Patel leader Narendra Patel, a former aide of Hardik Patel, that the BJP offered him ₹1 crore to join the party. The BJP has denied this and accused the Congress of stage-managing the entire controversy.
Gandhi also criticised the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and called the shock recall of high-value currency notes last November a personal whim of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“GST has destroyed small shop owners and businessmen…it is a Gabbar Singh Tax,” Gandhi said. “What happened on November 8? Modiji came on television and said I don’t like ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes. So I have decided to spike them… and by doing that he attacked the whole country by one stroke.”
The BJP was not impressed, calling the Congress “Drameybaz Party Number 1” for making a big deal of Thakor.
“Thakor contested panchayat election from Mehsana on a Congress ticket.
His father is district president of the Congress. And, you have Rahul Gandhi creating a drama as if some big leader has joined the Congress,” Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
The BJP has ruled Gujarat for 22 years. Since sweeping the Lok Sabha elections in the state in 2014, though, the party has had a relatively rough ride.
CALLS GST AS ‘GABBAR SINGH TAX, WHICH HAS DESTROYED SMALL SHOP OWNERS AND BUSINESSMEN’