Rahul Gandhi calls GST 'Gabbar Singh Tax', BJP says Cong 'Dramebaaz' party

New Delhi: Both the Congress and BJP escalated their high-pitched battle for Gujarat on Monday with Rahul Gandhi taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi by describing his “Good and Simple Tax” (GST) as the “Gabbar Singh tax”, while a sore BJP hit back swiftly, and asked Mr Gandhi to stop reducing himself to “gimmicks” and branding the Congress vice-president as a “dramebaaz”.

As the BJP huffed and puffed, the Congress continued with its efforts to stitch up a mega-front. While OBC leader Alpesh Thakor shared the dais with Mr Gandhi in Gandhinagar, in Uttar Pradesh Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav announced that his party would contest five of the 182 Gujarat Assembly seats and support the Congress in the remaining seats.

The Congress also took on the BJP over the delay in announcing the Gujarat poll dates and demanded that the Election Commission immediately announce polls in the state, and put the model code of conduct into effect. It said the poll body should not be a party to “the BJP’s  attempts to run away from the Assembly polls”.

A controversy broke out when an activist of the Hardik Patel-led Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) claimed that the BJP had offered him '1 crore to switch loyalties. The Congress vice-chief was quick to jump into the fray, saying: “Gujarat is priceless and cannot be bought”.

Mr Gandhi tweeted: “Gujarat is priceless and cannot be bought. This Gujarati voice is not an ordinary voice. This voice of Gujarat cannot be silenced or suppressed. You can offer anything, '1 crore, '10 crores, '50 crores, '1,000 crores, the entire Budget of India, the entire money of the world, (but) this Gujarati voice cannot be purchased”.

The BJP was quick to hit back, calling the Congress leader “Dramebaaz No. 1”, and advising Mr Gandhi not to reduce himself to a “gimmick” with such “desperate” tactics.

Union minister and top BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said OBC leader Alpesh Thakore’s move to join the Congress was a “drama”, and claimed Mr Thakore was an NSUI member and had unsuccessfully contested a panchayat election on the Congress ticket earlier.

“A big claim is being made that a major leader has joined the party (Congress). I have often accused Rahul Gandhi of not doing his homework, but it seems even his scriptwriter is not doing his homework,” Mr Prasad said. He said Mr Thakore’s father was also a district president of the Congress in Gujarat.

Earlier, at a rally in Gandhinagar, Mr Gandhi showcased the alliance the Congress was cobbling up in Gujarat, where Mr Thakor shared dais with him and officially joined the Congress. Indicating Patidar leader Hardik Patel and dalit leader Jignesh Mevani were also part of the alliance, Mr Gandhi said: “There are thousands of youths in Gujarat who cannot remain silent now. They belong to all castes. There are two more youths like you (Thakor) — they are Hardik (Patel) and Jignesh (Mevani, a dalit leader). Both of them cannot remain silent.”

He again questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence over the phenomenal rise of the company of BJP president Amit Shah’s son Jay Shah.

For the Congress, it was a power-packed Monday as it went on the offensive from early morning. Senior leader and MP Kapil Sibal alleged a nexus between the Election Commission and the Prime Minister as the election dates for the Gujarat Assembly had not been announced. In a strongly-worded tweet Mr Sibal said: “PM, EC jugalbandi now in the open. Allow me time for jumlas, then announce election dates in Gujarat. First week December: Amit Shah”.

Congress spokesman Manish Tewari took on the BJP over the same issue. “Why is the Election Commission becoming an unnecessary party to the BJP’s attempts to run away from elections?”

The BJP described as “baseless” and “scandalous” the Congress’ attack on the Election Commission for not announcing the Gujarat poll schedule. Taking a dig at the Congress over its campaign built around young leaders like Mr Thakore joining hands with Mr Gandhi, Mr Prasad referred to the Congress vice-president’s tieup with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav in the UP Assembly polls, and with Omar Abdullah in the J&K elections. “He has not learnt from his experience in these polls,” Mr Prasad said, referring to the Congress’ defeat in both the states.