Congress MP Jairam Ramesh Hits Out At PM Modi, Says GST Reforms Come Eight Years Too Late

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh on Monday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that the latter opposed the Goods and Services Tax (GST) when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat.

"From 2006-2014, for eight years, only one CM opposed the GST, and that CM became the Prime Minister in 2014 and took a U-turn and emerged as a messiah of GST in 2017," Ramesh, General Secretary incharge of communications in Congress, told ANI.

He further pointed out that the recently announced GST reforms were limited since they don't provide ease in navigating the procedural complexities of the MSME sector.

"The recent reforms to GST are limited. The need to provide ease in the procedural complexities of the MSME sector has not been fulfilled. The Prime Minister has not said anything on the demand of state governments to provide them with a five-year compensation package. Many issues need to be addressed," Ramesh said.

Intensifying his attack against the Narendra Modi government in the centre, Ramesh argued that the Congress has been "repeatedly" demanding reforms to GST for eight years, which the government ignored until US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs.

"GST was implemented for the first time in July 2017. That is when Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party called it the Gabbar Singh Tax. It is neither good nor simple. We knew it would come as a second shock to our economy after demonetisation. They didn't believe in us for 8 years and brought about no changes despite our repeated demands for reforms," the Congress MP said.

Ramesh stated that the proposal to implement GST was first presented by former Finance Minister P Chidambaram in 2006 and was introduced as a bill in 2010.

"When Trump imposed tariffs, the government was forced to improve the tax structure, and now they are celebrating it like a festival. They are eight years too late. The proposal to implement GST was first given in the budget speech of 2006 by then Finance Minister P Chidambaram. In 2010, it was presented in the Parliament as a bill," he said, adding, "For 2.5 years, it was there with the standing committee, which then BJP leader Yashwant Sinha was heading. When its report was presented, around the same time, the elections were announced."

However, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said that reforms to GST will come into effect across the country from today and will contribute to the savings of commoners.

Labelling the reductions as "historic," Shah said that the GST rate cuts have been implemented on more than 390 products.

"Modi government's gift of Next Gen GST reform to all the mothers and sisters of the country on the auspicious occasion of Navratri! Modi's promise to the countrymen regarding GST reform has been implemented across the entire country starting today. In this GST, historic reductions have been made in taxes on more than 390 goods," the Union Home Minister posted on X.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Modi announced the implementation of the next-generation GST reforms starting from today (September 22), marking what he called a major step towards the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.

Addressing the nation, PM Modi said the reforms would usher in a countrywide "GST Bachat Utsav," benefiting the poor, middle-class, farmers, traders, and entrepreneurs alike.

"From the sunrise of the very first day of Navratri, the nation is taking another important and major step towards the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. Tomorrow, on the first day of Navratri, September 22, along with the rising of Suryadev, the Next Generation GST Reforms will come into effect," he said.

The Prime Minister said that with the increased savings and easier purchases, the poor, middle class, farmers, women, traders and entrepreneurs of the country are all set to "benefit greatly."

(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and auto-generated from an agency feed.)