Contrary to what most pollsters are saying, the Congress is confident of coming to power in Gujarat, a state the BJP has ruled for 22 years.
In an interview with Moneycontrol’s Tarun Sharma, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala says the Gujarat model of governance – which helped Prime Minister Narendra Modi come to power at the Centre – has failed and that the electoral result in the state “will be shocking for BJP”.
Q: Would you say that this time too, elections in Gujarat are being contested on the basis of communal issues instead of basic issues that Gujarat faces.
A: The Gujarat election is unique both in prism -- in perspective -- and direction. This time, the young Gujarati is driving this election. So while Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP are trying to divide and polarize, people are asking questions on issues. That’s why our biggest poll plank has been: “Has development gone crazy?”. PM Modi has no answer for it. [BJP President] Amit Shah and PM Modi are blaming social media for it.
Q: Where do you think BJP is failing in fulfilling demands of Gujarat’s people? Given that the state enjoys a reputation of being a prosperous state.
A: The 22-year BJP rule has been marred, especially more recently, by corruption, maladministration, misgovernance, policy paralysis and an absolute lack of direction. Or commitment to specific causes related to public welfare. When the Congress demitted power in 1994-95, there was debt of around Rs 8,316 crore .That debt has risen to Rs 2,41,000 crore so they borrow money and then squander it away in wasteful expenditure.
If you look at state farmers, Gujarat is on number 9th in farmer suicides. And Gujarat is the only state which has no provision for compensation to family of deceased farmers. PM Modi promised to offer farmers cost plus 50 percent for groundnut crop. So it should fetch Rs 4,180 but it is fetching Rs 800 to 2000. Same with the price of cotton. It is getting Rs 2000 as against Rs 3,860 [of promised price]. If you look at the youth, the privatization model in health, education and transport has killed the social responsibility of the state to the people. The [high] fees of private institutions, going into lakhs of rupees, has led to the rise of the self-finance model. Still, getting a good job is beyond the reach of youth.
The traders and businessmen who Modiji always claimed as part of his core constituency, there, businesses have been decimated by the Modi model of demonetization disaster and GST -- the Gabbar Singh Tax. In Surat, in trade of textiles alone, the loss of business is around Rs 60,000 crore. The 700,000 powerlooms employ over 10 lakh people. They produced 4 crore meters clothes everyday. Now, they produce only 2.5 crore. Similar is the case of Rajkot and Surat’s diamond industries, which have suffered loss of Rs 30,000 crore. So, there has been a loss of Rs 90000 crore on account of demonetization in two cities.
Q: I come back to the economy of Gujarat. The same Gujarat model helped promote Narendra Modi from Chief Minister to Prime Minister in the 2014 elections. After demonetization and GST, it has made some people negative towards the BJP. Might be the case that textile and diamonds are both cash-based businesses and after GST, they will come under the ambit of tax which they don’t want?
A: You asked two questions here. 42 months ago, in May 2014, Modiji was elected by the people of Gujarat and rest of the country with great hope. The PM said he is the harbinger of hope. 42 months down the line, there are “acche din for Modiji and bure din for everyone else’. The person who claimed to be pro-business has systematically demolished the business acumen of the country. If you talk about textile and diamond, first Modiji imposed 18 percent tax on yarn and 5 percent on finalized product, that is cloth. After Rahul Gandhiji objected, they cut tax on yarn from 18 percent to 12 percent. Out of 7 lakh power looms operating [in the state], 6,90,000 buy yarn from the market. Only 10,000 manufacture their own yarn. So all of them are now facing double the tax. This is rendering them uncompetitive compared to the big sharks in the textile industry. And Modiji only represents the big sharks. On the diamond side, one third of the world’s diamonds are cut and polished in Surat. I don’t think there is any other center like Surat. See the entrepreneurial skills here. 25 lakh people are involved in this business. Diamond is a cottage industry in Gujarat. Instead of harnessing their talent Modiji imposed 0.25 percent GST on uncut diamond, 3 percent on polished diamond and 3 percent on labour, making the trade more difficult. There are many such examples. For he believes he serves only a handful of industrialists and everybody else is persecuted by tax. I don’t think the Modi model is working at all.
Q: Even if you form the government in the state, you cannot change the tax structure. How do you tackle this issue afterwards?
A: No, I think you are wrong here. Rahul Gandhiji finished the Land Acquistation Act, which was stopped. Modi-ji said that GST will not be touched. Now suddenly, Jaitley-ji and Modi-ji, after Congress’ opposition and protest by people, provided some relief. We believe the architecture and design of GST is faulty. We by the sheer the strength of people power, will ensure we correct the design and architecture in a manner where it will not be draconian but beneficial. Let me assure you, let the BJP lose Gujarat, they will have to listen to us. We will make sure GST will become business-friendly.
Q: How are you confident about winning Gujarat when on the other side, they are claiming they will get thumping majority?
A: 6.5 crore people will decide who will win. Most polls are showing that Congress and BJP are at same level. I can assure you the result will be shocking for BJP.
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