New Delhi, Sep 4 The Opposition parties on Thursday hit out at the Centre over the new GST reforms, arguing that the changes will not provide real relief to the common man and urging the government to reconsider its decision on the revised tax slabs.
The GST Council on Wednesday approved sweeping reforms in India's indirect tax regime, reducing the number of slabs and cutting rates on a wide range of essential goods and services.
Under the new structure, only two primary slabs will remain -- 5 per cent and 18 per cent -- along with a higher 40 per cent rate for sin goods. Officials said the revised structure will leave more disposable income in the hands of the common man, which the government expects will cycle back into the economy and spur growth.
Several items, including groceries, footwear, textiles, fertilisers and renewable energy products, will now become cheaper.
Goods earlier taxed at 12 per cent and 28 per cent will largely shift into the two main slabs, easing the burden on households.
Congress leader Rakesh Sinha, however, accused the government of political opportunism.
Speaking to IANS, he said, "The Congress had already told the Prime Minister earlier to bring changes in the GST slabs. For 11 years, the Prime Minister collected GST even on shrouds. When his vote bank started slipping, when he realised that the NDA government was going to be uprooted from Bihar, only then did he make changes in the GST slabs."
Uttar Pradesh Congress national media panellist Surendra Rajput also dismissed the reforms, claiming they will not benefit the country, while accusing the Centre of undermining India's MSME sector by increasing trade with China.
"The BJP government has made India 'Assembled in India' instead of Make in India. Neither India nor our MSME sector has benefited from 'Assembled in India'. The Prime Minister is going to double the trade with China," Rajput said.
"Our MSME sector and small industrialists were already badly affected and ruined by Chinese goods. From chandeliers to idols of Lord Ganesha, everything comes from China. Now they have opened more sectors. Will they now incur a loss of $200 billion instead of $100 billion? The MSME sector will be further crippled by the opening of imports with China," he added.
Samajwadi Party spokesperson Fakhrul Hasan Chaand also hit out at the government, accusing it of being indifferent to the rising prices of essential commodities.
"What is the price of flour today? What is the price of oil and rice? After all, whose stomach is filled with shampoo? When will petrol and diesel come under the ambit of GST? The question is, there was a time when the BJP opposed GST and today it talks about GST reforms," he said.
"The Samajwadi Party believes that GST is a tax which traders only collect and deposit, but the tax is actually taken from the common people, whether it is a rickshaw puller, a rich person, or a poor person. The BJP has only worked to increase inflation. On GST, it has only patted itself on the back. The people do not want 'Mann ki Baat', they want their own concerns to be heard. The Prime Minister must listen to the people's voice," Chaand further added.
He claimed the reforms are politically motivated, saying, "Only the BJP wants to take political advantage, to pat itself on the back, to praise its ministers, and to praise its government. But the people gave them a reply in the Lok Sabha elections, and the people will give a reply again in the times to come."
Chaand also accused the ruling party of being disconnected from the real issues.
"BJP is far from 'Roti, Kapda, Makaan' and is closer to topics like Hindu, Muslim, temples, mosques, love jihad, etc.," he added.
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