Voices of Gujarat: ‘Can’t Understand GST’, ‘Don’t See Any Vikas’

From vikas to digitisation, these 5 voters talk about what will define their vote in the Gujarat assembly elections.

(Photo: The Quint)

A businesswoman from Surat, a pharmacist, a college student and more – watch these people from Gujarat talk about what will define their vote this election.

This Time, I’d Certainly Not Vote For “Vikas”: 40-Year-Old Homemaker

Forty-year-old homemaker Chandrika Patel from Ahmedabad has still not forgotten the inconvenience she had to face after demonetisation was announced in November 2016. When she says that she would not vote for vikas , she seems to be referring not to development per se but her opposition to the Modi government, which has constantly emphasised on the slogan ‘sabka saath, sabka vikaas’.

I’m fed up of dealing with effects of note ban. After demonetisation was announced, we went to the bank everyday, leaving our household, work and children… There was a lot of tension.

“What has vikas done today?” Patel asks as she points out the increase in prices of commodities.

There Should be no GST on Medicines: 50-Year-Old Pharmacist

Considering medicines to be essential items which are used only by people in need, 50-year-old pharmacist Satishbhai says that they should ideally attract no tax.

Medicine prices have increased exponentially in the last three decades. I urge the government to remove tax on medicines. It’s fine to have tax on things like (vehicle) petrol which is not an essential item. If one cannot have zero tax on medicines, then it should not be more than 5 percent.

Satishbhai indicates that tax on medicines only goes against the central objective of the GST regime to boost the country’s development.

GST Has Been Introduced, But We See No Benefits From It: Surat Businesswoman

Nineteen-year-old Nishi Rajput is miffed about the impact GST has had on her business.

Rajput works in the telecom sector and is unhappy that the already meagre salary for most women in the sector will now be purportedly reduced further because of GST.

She says her vote will be decided by the how her industry is benefiting from a party’s policies. Rajput also wants the party she votes for to ensure that women are respected.

Govt Couldn’t Digitise The Economy After Demonetisation: 19-Year-Old Student

Nineteen-year-old student Ranil from Rajkot says that government has failed to digitise the economy, one of the objectives – apart from a crackdown on black money, counterfeit currency and terror funding – it sought to achieve after announcing demonetisation.

The government did not think before implementing demonetisation… A lot of people are still not familiar with the banking process and how to use digital money. The authorities are saying that the economy will grow and become digitised. But what is happening is the opposite.”

I Can’t Understand GST: 68-Year-Old Rajkot Businessman

Like many other businessmen from Gujarat, 68-year-old Gopal Kariya is facing a lot of trouble adapting to the GST regime.

I cannot understand the procedure behind GST. My business has gone down.

While some in the business community of Gujarat assert that the pain suffered due to GST will make them averse to voting for the BJP, others say that they will still support the party despite being inconvenienced by the new tax regime.

However, Kariya remains ambiguous about which party he will support.

I’ll vote for the candidate who can work for people like me. We should be able to talk to the candidate about issues such as corruption and problems arising from GST.

(Voices of Gujarat: Tired of listening to netas make promises? As Gujarat goes to polls, The Quint wants to listen to the real voices of Gujarat – the voters. Tell us what issues matter to you this election season. Send in your videos to [e-mail] or WhatsApp @ [phone])