"Turned into Aam Aadmi Party": BJP MP Sambit Patra lambasts Congress over GST reforms

New Delhi [India], September 4 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sambit Patra on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Congress party, saying that it has become the new Aam Aadmi Party, which attacks constitutional institutions without any proof.

He asked the Congress party to hold a press breifing on the GST reforms and tell whether the farmers are benefiting from the step or not.

Congress party should hold a press conference on #GSTReforms today and tell whether or not this has benefited farmers, families?. Their press conferences make no difference. They abuse some institutions without evidence, talk of vote chori without facts, and speak only on television. Congress is becoming like Aam Aadmi Party, more on the television and less on the ground...Congress party has turned into Aam Aadmi Party, Patra told reporters in the national capital.

Patra further said that the Goods and Services Tax reforms are not only a matter of huge change but also a bundle of happiness.

This is not just a reform, this is a huge change and a bundle of happiness...Modi hai toh mumkin hai!...Those who thought this was impossible, it is time for them to think, Sambit Patra told reporters.

He lauded the Union Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to implement the GST in 2017, stating that it could not have been done in the previous governments. He noted that GST would an example of Ease of Doing Business. Small businesses have got the biggest benefit from it.

Remember, GST was implemented in 2017. Previous governments could not implement it, but the Modi government implemented it. Today, any new business can be registered in just 3 days. This is an example of Ease of Doing Business. Small businesses have got the biggest benefit from it, he said.

He mentioned that the tractors will become cheaper due to the GST reforms stating that the farmer who bore the burden of the tractor for 75 years will now feel relieved.

Patra noted that a bicycle, which is a sign of reward for a child in a middle-class family, will also become cheap following the GST reforms.

I feel as if the farmer drove a tractor on the road and left all his old taxes at the turn of the road. The farmer who bore the burden of the tractor for 75 years is now feeling real relief. The farmer bore the burden of taxes for years, but now a turning point has come where he has got relief. Imagine, when the farmer in the village feels that the tractor has become cheaper, when the child in the house is happy that now he can get a bicycle, and when the middle class family feels that their small car or motorcycle has now become affordable - how much happiness comes in their life, the BJP leader said.

The 56th GST council meeting decided to rationalise GST rates to two slabs of 5 per cent and 18 per cent by merging the 12 per cent and 28 per cent rates.

5 slab consists of essential goods and services, including food and kitchen item like butter, ghee, cheese, dairy spreads, pre-packaged namkeens, bhujia, mixtures, and utensils; agricultural equipment like drip irrigation systems, sprinklers, bio-pesticides, micronutrients, soil preparation machines, harvesting tools, tractors, and tractor tires; handicrafts and small industries like sewing machines and their parts and health and wellness like medical equipment and diagnostic kits.

While the 18 slab consists of a standard rate for most goods and services, including automobiles such as small cars and motorcycles (up to 350cc), consumer goods like electronic items, household goods, and some professional services, a uniform 18 rate applies to all auto parts.

Additionally, there is also a 40 slab for luxury and sin goods, including tobacco and pan Masala, products like cigarettes, bidis, and aerated sugary beverages and on luxury vehicles, high-end motorcycles above 350cc, yachts, and helicopters.

Moreover, some essential services and educational items are fully exempted from GST, including individual health, family floater and life insurance, no GST on health and life insurance premiums and education and healthcare, like certain services related to education and healthcare are GST-exempt. (ANI)

Disclaimer: This news article is a direct feed from ANI and has not been edited by the News Nation team. The news agency is solely responsible for its content.