It is cruel to raise Goods and Services Tax (GST) on items of essential consumption when inflation is so high, the Congress said on Wednesday even as former party chief Rahul Gandhi asserted that the Prime Minister should withdraw it.
Responding to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s series of 14 tweets in which she had claimed that the 5% tax [on pre-packaged goods] was levied after a nod from all States, including the non-BJP ruled ones like Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Kerala, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh put out 10 tweets in a point-by-point rebuttal.
Alleging that the Narendra Modi government is penalising aspiration and desire to buy more hygienically packed goods, Mr. Ramesh said “branded and labelled” are very different from “pre-packaged and labelled”. The former refers only to products of big companies priced higher and bought by middle and upper-middle classes, while the latter affects small businesses whose products are bought by the lower middle class and the poor, he said.
“Above all is the timing. It is cruel to raise tax rates when CPI (consumer price index) inflation is over 7%, WPI (wholesale price index) inflation is over 15%, unemployment is high, the rupee is depreciating, the current account deficit is widening and inflation is expected to rise worldwide,” Mr. Ramesh said, adding, “Why should not the poorer consumers aspire to buy pre-packaged and labelled goods”.
In his rebuttal, the Congress leader said that a West Bengal minister, who attended the GST Council meeting, disclosed it was a virtual one and the State Finance ministers did not consult each other.
The West Bengal minister had also claimed that she and some others opposed the report of the Fitment Committee that recommended the GST increases, Mr. Ramesh added while pointing out that GST on crematoriums has been increased to 18%.
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Taking to Twitter, Mr. Gandhi said, “Recipe of ‘Gabbar’ for people struggling with inflation: Make less, eat less, satisfy hunger with the ‘tadka of jumlas’. The Prime Minister, who listens to even the unsaid words of ‘friends’, will now also have to listen to the public and withdraw this GST”.
Mr. Gandhi, who had been calling GST ‘Gabbar Singh Tax’, on Wednesday described it as ‘Grahasti Sarvnaash Tax’ or a tax that will destroy common households.
“Narendra Modi ji is increasing the expenditure and is shying away from discussion in Parliament. Is it ‘unparliamentary’ to discuss inflation?” asked Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in a tweet.
