Congress Accuses Modi Government of Exploitative Tax Practices Under GST

Sushil Anand Shukla, President of the Pradesh Congress Communication Department, accused the BJP government of being more ruthless than the British in collecting taxes from the public. He stated that the Narendra Modi government has collected 118 lakh crore from GST alone in the past 8 years. This is the BJP’s toolkit: first, impose taxes of 5%, 12%, and 28% even on tax-free items, and then, after 8 years, show a favor by making it 5% and 18%. The Modi government has now accepted that GST 1.0 was an unjust ‘Gabbar Singh Tax’. In GST 2.0, the Modi government has imposed GST on more than 35 agricultural sector items. Petrol, diesel, and liquor are still outside the purview of GST and are under VAT. The 28% GST slab is not seen anywhere else in the world. It took 8 years for them to realize that 5% should be applied on groceries instead of 12%, yet they haven’t improved and have brought a new 40% slab. The government has imposed 40% GST on popular SUV vehicles. All popular small SUVs are above 1200 CC, and more than 45 thousand crore will be collected annually. In GST 2.0, there will also be a 3% tax on gold and silver, 5% on daily consumable items, and a 40% slab along with 18% slab, apart from zero-rated and nil-rated items. The Modi government’s claim of only two GST slabs from September 22, 2025, is false.