Congress President Kharge Slams Modi Govt: “Finally Woken Up After 8 Years on GST Reforms”

New Delhi: Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday sharply criticised the Narendra Modi-led government over its prolonged delay in implementing Goods and Services Tax (GST) reforms, terming it a “good thing” that the Centre has finally “woken up” after eight years. Kharge emphasised that the Opposition had consistently pushed for a simplified and rational indirect tax system, which was long overdue.

The GST Council recently approved major changes to the tax framework, consolidating multiple slabs into two primary rates of 5 per cent and 18 per cent, alongside a 40 per cent rate for luxury and sin goods. Items previously taxed at 12 per cent and 28 per cent are largely being shifted into these main slabs, with the government claiming the move will ease the tax burden on households.

Reacting to the announcement on X, Kharge wrote, “For nearly a decade, the Indian National Congress has been demanding the simplification of GST. The Modi government turned ‘One Nation, One Tax’ into ‘One Nation, 9 Taxes.’ Which included Tax Slabs of 0 per cent, 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent, 28 per cent and special rates of 0.25 per cent, 1.5 per cent, 3 per cent, and 6 per cent.”

Kharge highlighted that the Congress had already proposed a “GST 2.0” system in its 2019 and 2024 election manifestos, aiming for a simpler tax structure and streamlined compliance, which he claimed had “severely affected” MSMEs and small businesses. He also recalled that GST was first conceptualised by the Congress-led UPA government in 2005 and that the BJP had opposed the GST Bill when it was introduced in 2011 by then-Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Pointing out what he described as government hypocrisy, Kharge said, “Today, the same BJP government celebrates record GST collections, as if collecting tax from the common people was some great achievement.” He added that for the first time in India’s history, the Modi government imposed GST on farmers, covering 36 items in the agriculture sector, including milk, curd, flour, grains, children’s pencils, books, oxygen, insurance, and hospital expenses — everyday essentials that ordinary citizens rely on. “That’s why we named this BJP’s GST the ‘Gabbar Singh Tax’,” he stated.

Kharge also stressed that the burden of GST disproportionately falls on the poor and middle class, accounting for 64 per cent of total collections, while billionaires contribute just 3 per cent. Meanwhile, corporate tax rates were reduced from 30 per cent to 22 per cent. Highlighting revenue trends, he noted a 240 per cent increase in Income Tax collection and a 177 per cent rise in GST collection over the last five years.