Country making good progress under BJP government, says party chief

Amid concern over a slump in economic growth and rising unemployment, BJP president Amit Shah on Sunday asked people not to “rely on statistics” and “travel in the country” to see development and growth under the BJP government.

Mr. Shah also defended the demonetisation that had apparently caused a slowdown in the economy.

Interactive session

Interacting with thousands of youth BJP workers and volunteers using social media platforms under the Adikham Gujarat (Resolute Gujarat) Town Hall, Mr. Shah slammed Opposition parties and particularly Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for raising questions on the Modi government’s development efforts and for questioning the Gujarat model.

During his hour-long interaction, Mr. Shah talked about demonetisation, GST, quota agitation by Patidars, Gujarat model, atrocities on Dalits and a range of other issues by answering questions from party volunteers in Ahmedabad and other places.

According to the Gujarat BJP, Amit Shah’s Youth Town Hall programme received 10,000 questions on Facebook, 12,000 questions on the BJP website, and over 6,000 questions on Twitter and the event was attended by over a lakh BJP workers at around 250 locations across the country.

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“The RBI has said that 99% demonetised notes have returned to the banks during demonetisation but does anyone know how much currency was lying with the banks before demonetisation? 20% of notes were hoarded by corrupt politicians, bureaucrats and others,” Mr. Shah said, replying to a question on demonetisation.

On GST and its high tax slabs, Mr. Shah admitted that some difficulties were being faced by traders and others but stressed that its modern tax system would benefit the country and all States. Grievances would be resolved by the GST Council that meets every month, he added.

On the Patidar quota agitation, Mr. Shah said that those running the agitation have leaned towards “a certain political party” and this would become clearer as the Assembly election approaches. He also advised Patidars to follow the legal recourse and approach the authorities, as it’s a judicial and constitutional issue.