&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "New GST rates: Former FM Chidambaram, TMC welcome changes but question timing amid Trump tariff")
A day after the Indian government revised and cut GST slabs and rates after the GST council meeting, Opposition parties have responded positively to the changes, including senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, who has remained as the finance minister of the country during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government led by the Congress party.
Reacting to the announce by the GST Council of rationalising GST rates to two slabs of 5 per cent and 18 per cent by merging the 12 per cent and 28 per cent rates, the former finance minister welcomed the move, but raised question on the delay in announcing the revised GST, as he said the move should have come eight years back.
Taking to X on Wednesday, the former finance minister wrote, "The GST rationalisation and the reduction in rates on a range of goods and services are WELCOME but 8 years TOO LATE. The current design of GST and the rates prevailing until today ought not to have been introduced in the first place. We have been crying hoarse for the last 8 years against the design and rates of GST, but our pleas fell on deaf ears."
He also questioned the timing of the revised GST announcement, pointing towards the 50 per cent tariffs introduced by the US President Donald Trump on India.
"It will be interesting to speculate on what drove the government to make the changes: Sluggish growth? Rising household debt? Falling household savings? Elections in Bihar? Mr Trump and his tariffs? All of the above?" he added.
Mamata Banerjee's TMC hails new GST announcement
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The move to announce new GST rates was also welcomed by Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC) that has been a staunch critic of PM Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The party, however, accused the government of only acting "when cornered".
"A victory wrested from a tone-deaf regime that only listens when forced. From day one, Smt. @MamataOfficial warned the Finance Minister that taxing insurance premiums was cruel, anti-people, and would deter families from securing their future, leaving them vulnerable to financial ruin in times of crisis. The @narendramodi Govt. has finally buckled under pressure. This rollback proves that @BJP4India only acts when cornered. We will continue to fight every such Jono-Birodhi decision, in Parliament, on the streets, among the people," the TMC said in a statement on X.
