Condemning the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council’s decision on imposing 5% GST on pre-packed and pre-labelled foodgrains, the Gulbarga Dal Miller’s Association has given call for Kalaburagi Bandh on Saturday seeking immediate withdrawal of the order.
Speaking at the preparatory meeting held on Friday, president of the association Shivasharanappa Niggudagi strongly criticised the government’s move on levying tax on foodgrains and said it would have a negative impact on trade and also the agriculture sector.
A large number of dal mills had shut down in Kalaburagi district, as the dal industry was incurring losses due to the government policies. Red gram price would rise if the governments levied tax, he said.
The Grain and Seeds Merchants’ Association; Rice Millers’ Association and the members of Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) have extended their support to the bandh call.
In a release, SUCI(C) district secretary H.V. Diwakar said that the GST council’s decision to levy 5% tax would not only increase the price of foodgrains but also the dairy products, including curd and milk.
Accusing the BJP-led government being pro-corporate, Mr. Diwakar said that the levy of GST was intended to benefit the corporate sector. The Centre should immediately withdraw the decision on imposing GST on food products, he has said in the release.
