PM Modi introduced GST, imposed hikes, now taking credit for reforms: Siddaramaiah

Mysuru, Sep 22 (IANS) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, on Monday, hit out at the Union government and said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the one who introduced the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and later raised the rates and now he is taking the credit for the next-generation GST reforms in the country.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi is nothing but a deceiver. It was PM Modi who introduced GST, it was PM Modi who kept raising GST rates, and now it is PM Modi again patting himself on the back," Siddaramaiah said in a veiled attack at the Prime Minister.

Speaking after inaugurating the Dasara Food Festival at Maharaja's College Grounds in Mysuru district, the Chief Minister asked, "For the past eight years, it is PM Modi who has excessively collected GST. Will all that money now be returned to the people of India?"

"We (Congress) were the ones who opposed raising GST to 18 per cent and 28 per cent. The very people (BJP) who imposed such taxes are now trying to claim credit. Look how cleverly they (BJP) are fooling Indians. You should not fall prey to this," Siddaramaiah urged.

He added, "To ensure that the poor do not go to bed hungry, it was I, Siddaramaiah, who implemented the Anna Bhagya scheme and provided 10 kg of rice."

Referring to the opposition to Booker Award-winning author Banu Mushtaq inaugurating the Dasara celebrations in Mysuru, the Chief Minister noted, "The High Court and the Supreme Court have already struck down such objections. My very name has two gods in it -- Siddha refers to Shiva, and Rama refers to Vishnu. So, the Supreme Court rightly told those fools opposing Banu Mushtaq to go read the Preamble of the Constitution."

"Those who opposed Banu Mushtaq are people who have been MPs twice, yet they don't even know that Dasara is our 'Nada Habba' (state festival). They tried to portray me as 'anti-Hindu', but they failed. My very name carries two gods, so I am a better Hindu than them," he said.

Criticising Prime Minister Modi over the GST reforms, Karnataka Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, IT and Biotechnology Priyank Kharge on social media platform X said, "Gabbar Singh has reduced the scale of looting, and for this, everyone is expected to celebrate. But are we supposed to forget the massive loot that this Gabbar Singh carried out for the last eight years? This is the legacy of the Central government!"

"The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) assumes that the people of this country are such fools that they can be fooled in any way. But the people are not fools," he added.

"Now they (BJP) want to hold a "GST Savings Festival", but weren't they celebrating a "GST Loot Festival" for the last eight years?" Kharge asked.

"They (BJP) are the ones who pushed people into the well, and now they claim credit by saying they have given a ladder to pull people out. But the sin of pushing people into the well for eight years lies squarely with PM Modi," he said while hitting out at the Union government.

"When Rahul Gandhi repeatedly demanded in the past that the "Gabbar Singh Tax" be reduced, BJP mocked him. Today, shaken by public outrage, they have reduced GST -- yet shamelessly try to take credit for it," he added.

"When GST was imposed at exorbitant rates, they called it a "masterstroke". Now, even when GST is reduced, they call it a "masterstroke"! Kharge said.

"But who will bear the responsibility for the damage inflicted on the people and the nation's economy in these eight years? Who will answer for the many small and medium industries that shut down due to the impact of GST in these eight years? Who is responsible for the blows dealt to the nation's economy in these eight years?"

"Who will answer for the job losses during this period? Isn't PM Modi himself responsible for all this, BJP Karnataka?" Kharge asked.

--IANS

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