Give jobs else quit throne: Rahul Gandhi to Narendra Modi

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday tried to pin down the Modi government and BJP into a discourse on post-demonetisation/GST economic issues by asking the prime minister to deliver on his promises of checking prices and generating jobs, or else, quit.

"Expensive gas, expensive ration, stop making hollow speeches! Control prices, give jobs else quit the throne,” Gandhi tweeted on Sunday. This was meant to sharpen the Congress’ campaign ring-tone against BJP in election-bound states where Modi is the star campaigner for his party.

Gandhi’s sharpening his attack on the PM is seen as part of Congress plan to try and keep the focus of the election campaign on economic issues rather than allow the BJP to revive polarising themes. Gandhi’s focus on the two issues that bothers the BJP government –– joblessness and rising prices of some items –– is also part of the Congress build-up for observing November 8, the anniversary of the demonetisation, as a Black Day.

The Congress has also been demanding “structural changes” in “GST architecture”, by insisting that GST implementation, in its current form, was leading to havoc on the economic front. Finance ministers belonging to Congress state governments have already announced their resolve to place a set of demands, including tax slabs on restructuring and sector-wise concessions, among other issues, at the upcoming meeting of the GST Council, slated to start in Guwahati from November 9.