Congress Slams PM Modi Over His Address On GST,Says Cat Set Off for Hajj Pilgrimage After Eating Nine Hundred Rats

He stated that the Indian National Congress has long argued that GST is, in fact, a Growth Suppressing Tax. It has several issues—multiple tax slabs, punitive tax rates on common consumption items, widespread evasion and misclassification, the burden of costly formalities, and an inverted duty structure where output is taxed less than inputs.

“We have been demanding GST 2.0 since July 2017. This was also a key promise in our Nyay Patra for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.The current GST reforms appear inadequate”,he said.

Pending issues include:

• Meaningful resolution of the widespread concerns of MSMEs, a major employment generator in the economy. Beyond significant procedural changes, this includes further increasing thresholds applicable to interstate supplies.

• Addressing issues raised by various sectors—such as textiles, tourism, exporters, handicrafts, and agricultural inputs.

• Encouraging states to implement state-level GST to bring electricity, liquor, petroleum, and real estate under its ambit.

• In the true spirit of cooperative federalism, the key demand of states—extending compensation for their revenue protection for another five years—has not yet been addressed.

It remains to be seen whether these GST amendments, delayed by eight years, will truly boost private investment, which is essential for high GDP growth. Meanwhile, India’s trade deficit with China has doubled over the past five years, crossing $100 billion. Indian businesses are being crippled by fear and monopolies, causing many entrepreneurs to flee abroad.

“Now, by talking about a Rs 2.5 lakh crore ‘savings festival’, you are trying to put a small Band-Aid on the deep wounds inflicted on the public. The public will never forget that you collected the highest GST on their dal-chawal-grain, pencils, books, treatment, farmers' tractorseverything. Your government should apologise to the public,” he said.