Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Sep 22: The Congress on Monday criticised the Narendra Modi government over its handling of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), calling the recent reforms "too little, too late" and demanding that petrol, diesel, and electricity be brought under the GST regime to provide meaningful relief to citizens.

Addressing the media, Congress spokesperson Abhay Dubey said the government had delayed much-needed changes, adding, “We had demanded a unified tax eight years ago. Instead, the government imposed six different slabs, damaging MSMEs and leading to inflation due to falling production and demand.”

Dubey cited an RBI report to back his claim that the economy suffered irreversible losses due to flawed tax policies.

Senior party leader Pramod Tiwari went further, calling GST a form of “legalised loot,” accusing the Centre of extracting Rs 50 lakh crore from the middle class. “Small industries are gone, inflation is rampant, and now that pressure is mounting, they’re rolling out half-baked fixes,” he said.

Supriya Shrinate, Congress national spokesperson, dismissed the Centre’s narrative of a “GST Bachat Utsav” (Savings Festival) as hollow. “If today is a ‘Bachat Utsav,’ then the last eight years were a ‘Loot Utsav.’ Who is responsible for that? The PM must stop asking for credit and instead take accountability,” she said. Shrinate also attacked the government on its Swadeshi claims, alleging hypocrisy: “He talks about promoting Indian goods but wears foreign brands head to toe.”

The comments came hours after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the revamped GST structure — which reduces taxes on over 370 items — would inject Rs 2 lakh crore into the economy by boosting consumer spending.

Congress, however, insists that unless fuel and electricity are brought under GST, the relief will be superficial at best.