• Congress is unable to digest the decisions taken by the central government in public interest
Shimla, BJP MLA and media in-charge Randhir Sharma, describing the double character of the Congress party, said that in the GST Council meeting, the Finance Ministers of Congress-ruled states support the decisions taken by the Central Government in public interest and when the best leader of the Congress Party, Rahul Gandhi, opposes these reforms outside the meeting, then the Congress leaders in the states also oppose the decisions. He said that Himachal Pradesh’s Industry Minister Harsh Vardhan also opposed the decision to provide relief to the public through GST, which exposes the anti-people face of the Congress. Sharma said that we want to tell the Congress leaders that while talking about the revenue of Himachal Pradesh, they should also think about the reforms that benefit every citizen. Congress leaders are unable to think because in their current tenure, they have not taken a single decision which is in public interest. By taking only anti-people decisions, they have put an economic burden on the citizens of Himachal Pradesh, so these people are unable to digest the historic public interest decisions taken by the Central Government. If the revenue has to be increased, then investment and industrial growth should be encouraged in Himachal Pradesh, revenue will increase as well as employment.
Randhir Sharma said that during the Congress rule, 27% tax was levied on toothpaste, soap and mineral water, whereas now it has been reduced to only 5%. Even bicycles, sewing machines and puja materials have become cheaper. Taxes on items like TV, fridge, washing machine and car-bike have also been reduced considerably. Sharma said that the Modi government has not only given relief to the middle class and housewives, but has also provided great facilities to farmers and patients. Tax on medical equipment, health insurance and tractor-tyres has been reduced to almost zero.
He said that the Prime Minister had talked about the government’s intention to bring next generation reforms in GST in his 11th Independence Day address from the ramparts of the Red Fort on 15 August 2025. Under his successful leadership, in just 20 days, the GST Council has made historic reforms and has either abolished or reduced taxes on all essential commodities. In the new GST regime, the 28 percent and 12 percent slabs have been abolished. That is, now there will be only two tax slabs – 5 percent and 18 percent.
