The Central Government Has Finally Realized Its Mistake – Says P. Chidambaram

Madurai Airport (via Chennai):
Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram, speaking to reporters after arriving in Madurai by flight, commented on the recent GST rate revisions announced by the Central Government.

“We welcome the changes made to GST rates. However, I appreciate the government for realizing its mistake — even if it’s after 8 long years.”

He recalled that when the GST Act was implemented in 2017, the Congress and several experts had warned the government about the flaws in the system:

“Right from the beginning, we had advised against implementing so many different tax slabs. Even the then Chief Economic Adviser, Arvind Subramanian, cautioned that this was a mistake. But neither the Finance Ministers nor other ministers paid attention. We raised this issue multiple times in Parliament.”

“Many leaders and economists repeatedly urged the government to correct these issues. Now that they’ve finally acknowledged and rectified some of the problems, I thank them.”

Chidambaram strongly criticized the burden placed on common people over the years:

“For all these years, the same poor and middle-class people were paying 12% and 18% GST. And now you’re saying it’s more appropriate to reduce it to 5%? If it makes sense today, then why not last year or three years ago?”

“The government squeezed money out of the people for eight long years. Now, after extracting every possible rupee, they’ve had a change of heart and reduced the tax rates — for that, I extend my appreciation.”