Rahul Gandhi promises to make single slab GST, alleges “Modi” govt for superimposing it
Coimbatore: Former Congress President and Member of Parliament for Wayanad in Kerala, Rahul Gandhi woved to make GST into single slab and minimum tax GST if voted to power, in his interaction with the MSME representatives in Coimbatore. Upon his arrival as part of the campaign for the assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, Rahul is set to meet farmers and MSME representatives in the western belt of Tamil Nadu for the next three days.
Answering questions of various Micro Small and Medium Enterprises, Gandhi expressed that PM Narendra Modi had failed the economic system by superimposing the GST.
He said, “When Mr. Narendra Modi was elected to power and became Prime Minister, he superimposed the GST without doing any homework on it. And as a result, taxes have been raised besides the grim picture that demonetisation brought. The system needs to be restructured and we will do it if we voted to power. When we brought about GST drafts our idea was one tax with minimum tax for all. If this is done, the economy of our country will grow in triple and MSME, which is largely affected will also see a rise”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi didn’t even consider negotiating before GST implementation. However, Congress had planned to implement GST with the objective of Single slab tax and minimum tax", Gandhi said. "Have you seen our Prime Minister posing with MSME’s for a picture?" asked Rahul, chiding PM for helping only the large scale businesses.
“The expansion of GST should be Goods and Services Tax and not taxes. But instead of one tax, we pay many taxes and it is wrong,” said Gandhi.
“We have seen the entire GST drama unfolding today. Who are these supporters of GST? They are large businesses. Why? There is a reason for it. It is designed to help them. The GST is not only badly implemented but strategically destroyed the economy,” he said.
“When Congress planned the GST, its objective was ‘one tax, minimum tax’. But BJP has complicated the negotiation when it was implemented. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has bypassed the bulk of negotiation.
“The GST has been superimposed. Instead on one tax, now people pay five taxes with massive amount and undergo huge complication. It has served a huge blow to MSMEs. When we come to power, it will be restructured and reconceptualised,” he added.
On being asked by one entrepreneur on why the schemes are not implemented in India properly rather than just announcing it, Rahul Gandhi says that it is because of the plight of banking sectors in India. He says that only fifteen or so companies in India are being offered with the help of funds from banks and that the banks are literally being captured by them which as a result doesn’t provide funds for micro businesses and which is why there is no proper implementation.
With farmers protesting against the three bills that have passed in the assembly, the Auto Component Industries are in a sorry state now. Responding to the same, Gandhi took a jibe at the Central Government saying it is going in a dictatorial direction and asked it to listen to the people of India and ease all their worries.
He said, the foundation of economic growth in India is diversity. India itself is a diversity. Modi’s ideology to reduce diversity and grow the economy is a pure example that he lacks knowledge in it, Gandhi alleges. Gandhi also said India needs to have data on Healthcare, Transaction, Education and etc. Our biggest single asset is our data.
He also expressed concern over the hike in Petrol, Diesel and farm laws and promises to bring back to normal if voted to power. He went on to say that India’s success is purely based on MSME’s and that our education system, which is not practical but theoretical, should have linkages between organisations. We should link the education system between industries which will help sort out unemployment, he said.