Congress will bring single-slab GST: Rahul in poll-bound MP
Dabra (MP), Oct 15: Congress president Rahul Gandhi said Monday that a one-slab Goods and Services Tax (GST) would be implemented if his party is elected to power at the Centre.
The Gandhi scion lambasted the present multi-slab GST, saying it has "ruined" the small shopkeepers in the country.
"How much money did this Gabbar Singh Tax take away from your pockets? After this meeting, you should go to a small shopkeeper and ask him whether the GST benefited him or resulted in a loss," Gandhi said at a public meeting in Madhya Pradesh's Dabra.
"He will tell you that this Gabbar Singh Tax has ruined small shopkeepers and the people of this country," Gandhi said.
"I want to tell the small traders of India including those in Madhya Pradesh that (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi and his Finance Minister (Arun Jaitley) defamed you all. They termed you thieves. You are not thieves. You serve this country," the Congress president said.
He alleged that crores of honest shopkeepers across the country were suffering because of some wrong-doers.
"You (shopkeepers) are serving the country like every other citizen. There may be couple of people who adopt wrong ways. But this is not the responsibility of crores of country's shopkeepers, who are honest," Gandhi said.
"I want to assure you that when a Congress government comes to power at the Centre, we will convert Gabbar Singh Tax into a real GST," he said.
He said if voted to power, the Congress will do away from five different taxes (slabs) and "there will be the lowest tax, only one tax (one slab of GST).
"You will not need to hire accountants (to file GST returns)... Your (shopkeepers') losses would be reduced and you will need to fill in fewer forms," he said.
The assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh will be held on November 28 and the counting of votes will take place on December 11.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
