Arunachal Cong terms PM’s ‘GST Bachat Utsav’ a poll stunt

Itanagar, Sep 23 (PTI) The Congress in Arunachal Pradesh on Tuesday dismissed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement of “GST Bachat Utsav” as an election-time gimmick, accusing the BJP-led central government of using festivals and birthdays for political publicity while ignoring the economic distress caused by the Goods and Services Tax regime over the past eight years.

The opposition party claimed that the timing of the announcement, coinciding with Navratri celebrations and the Prime Minister’s birthday, exposed it as “a spectacle to woo voters rather than genuine reform.” The Congress alleged that the Modi government’s GST policies had led to high taxes on essential goods such as food, medicines and education, increased compliance burden on small traders and MSMEs, and weakened state finances in the past years.

“GST Bachat Utsav is nothing but an election-time stunt. For eight years, the Modi government made life costlier with high GST on essentials. Now, on the eve of elections, it wants to project itself as a saviour,” Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) spokesman Chera Taya said in a statement.

Modi had addressed the nation on Sunday on the eve of the new GST rates roll-out from the first day of Navratri, lauding it as the "GST bachat utsav" for shoppers as prices of a wide array of items have gone down.

The Congress’ statement said that the party has consistently demanded that GST be a rational, transparent and citizen-friendly regime.

The party asserted that the new “Next-Gen GST 2025” risked becoming a repackaging exercise unless the government extended GST compensation to states for another five years, simplified the tax structure, and ensured a zero slab for essentials.

It claimed that reducing slabs to 5 per cent and 18 per cent would push many items from the 12 per cent bracket into the higher category, making them costlier for middle-class families and small businesses.

The Congress further claimed that Arunachal Pradesh and other smaller states, which rely heavily on GST compensation, would face severe fiscal stress if the compensation fund is not extended beyond 2026.

“Without protection of state revenues, federalism will be undermined,” the party said, demanding a five-year compensation package from 2024–25 fiscal.

Reiterating former Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s criticism of GST as “Gabbar Singh Tax,” the APCC asserted that the government’s “half-baked” reforms confirmed his warnings.

“BJP promised a ‘Good and Simple Tax’ but delivered one nation, nine slabs — chaos, confusion and harassment. Even farmers are taxed for the first time in history,” it said.

The APCC demanded zero GST on basic food, medicines, education and health services; relief measures for small traders and MSMEs through higher exemption thresholds; and a parliamentary committee to review what it called the failures of GST under the Modi government.

“GST under the BJP has been nothing short of economic violence. The Prime Minister owes an apology to farmers, traders and youth,” the party added. PTI UPL NN