Hyderabad: Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar on Tuesday ridiculed the BJP’s decision to celebrate Goods and Services Tax (GST) reforms under the banner of a ‘GST Bachat Utsav’. Speaking to media persons at Gandhi Bhavan, he blamed the BJP government for imposing “irrational GST” for the past eight years, asserting that such celebrations would not alleviate the people’s suffering.

The Minister said that GST had been used as a weapon to “rob the people of the country.” He felt that it was illogical for the government to impose taxes, reduce them, and then celebrate the reforms. He called the reforms an “election gimmick,” as he felt their benefits have not yet reached the poor.

Recalling Rahul Gandhi’s past characterisation of GST as ‘Gabbar Singh Tax’, the Minister said that even the revised rates remain unreasonable. He claimed that the prices of essential goods had doubled and that the government had even imposed GST on coffins and cremation. “The Modi government has backed down only to escape the economic crisis,” he said.

Ponnam Prabhakar stated that Telangana is facing a loss of Rs 7,000 crore due to the GST revamp and that it is the Central Government’s responsibility to cover this amount. He directly asked Union Ministers Bandi Sanjay and Kishan Reddy to explain how they will compensate Telangana and address the state’s losses over the past 10 years.