BJP will win at least 150 seats in Gujarat, says Amit Shah

BJP President Amit Shah on Saturday asserted that his party will win over 150 out of the total 182 seats in the Gujarat assembly elections due later this year.

At a press conference here on the second day of his three-day Jaipur trip, he also said that his party wanted a Ram temple in Ayodhya "to be built by legal process or by dialogue".

Amit Shah called for an all-party meeting to discuss the issue of "creamy layer" in reservations for Scheduled Castes/Tribes and Other Backward Classes in education and government jobs.

Praising the Narendra Modi government, he said that due to its policies and decisions, India has become the fastest growing economy in the world.

"Both direct and indirect taxes have witnessed a growth rate of over 18 per cent, which is a record...." he said.

He termed demonetisation as "a courageous and historical decision" and termed its results "very encouraging".

On the GST, he said it was a "historical step" which will help boost the economy, and noted that it has been implemented with the consensus of all the state governments.

In response to a question on his party's earlier opposition, he said: "We never opposed GST, it was only that the previous government was not implementing it in a proper manner."

Shah said that corruption was a big issue under the previous government but "we have been able to rid the economy of that".

"In last three years, no one, including our opponents can raise fingers at our party at the Centre on corruption issue," he added.

About the surgical strikes, he said that it has shown to the world that India is committed to its security.

Amit Shah, who is here to hold meetings on strengthening the BJP at the grassroots, on Saturday met various Hindu seers as well as MLAs and MPs from the state. In the evening, he left for Delhi to attend a function at Rashtrapati Bhavan for outgoing President Pranab Mukherjee and is scheduled to come back later on Saturday night.

--IANS

as/vd/bg