GST rates cut: Credit to Rahul Gandhi, Congress leaders say

Congress leaders Ashok Gehlot and Pawan Khera have said Rahul Gandhi should get credit for the Narendra Modi government's decision to reduce GST on as many as 178 items of daily use.

Rahul himself said at a rally today that the Centre has "rolled it back" after "the country and Congress put pressure on the government."

He tweeted that his party would fight for "one rate, with a cap at 18%."

"If the BJP doesn't do it, the Congress will," he said.

India does not need a Gabbar Singh Tax. We want a true GST. Congress, along with the people of India, fought for and ensured reduction in items in 28% bracket. Next we will fight for one rate, with a cap at 18%. If BJP doesn’t do it, Congress will.

- Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) November 11, 2017

Ashok Gehlot told the news agency PTI that pressure mounted by Gandhi and the response his yatras have received in poll-bound Gujarat caused the GST Council to cut tax rates.

Gehlot claimed the GST Council changed the rates with an eye on the Assembly elections. Gujarat goes to polls in two phases on December 9 and 14.

The BJP, he said, "is rankled by trepidation that Gujarat will slip off its hands. Thats why the rates were cut."

Congress leader Pawan Khera said there " was a pressure from Rahul Gandhi."

"The 'Gabbar Singh Tax' went so much viral in Gujarat that the BJP did not know how to deal with it," Khera said.

Rahul Gandhi coined the expansion Gabbar Singh Tax during a speech on the Gujarat election campaign trail. That was a response to the prime minister, who'd said it was a "good and simple tax."

Pawan Khera said much more needed to be done to extend the relief to the farming community, as the central excise on fertilisers was 1.03 per cent before GST, but had now increased to 5 per cent.

He said that the tax on agricultural equipment such as tractor was as high as 18 per cent.

'INSTALLMENT-BASED TINKERING'  

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala called the tax rate cut "installment-based tinkering." He said it underscored the "chaos within" the Narendra Modi government, and its "adhocism."

He accused Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and the government of "paying lip service and creating havoc", and said the Congress was determined to make the tax regime "flawless."

Surjewala demanded that petroleum products, real estate and electricity be brought under the ambit of GST. He also called for reducing the tax's "compliance burden" and added that the textile sector was faced with deep stress due to a "distorted duty structure".

"Adjournment and deferment, rather than decision, appear to be the way forward for this government."

"None of these challenges have been addressed by the Council. This is owing to the sheer ineptitude and amateurish handling of the biggest tax reform by the BJP government," he added.

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