- Prime Minister Modi called GST rate cuts the start of GST Utsav reform festival
- Opposition parties accused PM Modi of taking credit for GST Council decisions by consensus
- Congress' Mallikarjun Kharge, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee were among those who criticised PM
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today termed the lowering of Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates as the beginning of "GST Utsav", presenting the reforms as a "double bonanza" to households already benefitting from recent income tax exemptions.
But the remarks were met almost immediately with sharp political resistance. Opposition leaders across parties, particularly from the Congress and Trinamool Congress, accused the Prime Minister of appropriating credit for decisions shaped by consensus in the GST Council. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge went further, accusing PM Modi of masking eight years of what he described as "economic wounds".
In a 19-minute televised address, PM Modi described the new tax regime, effective from September 22, as "next generation GST reforms" that would mark a decisive step towards "aatmanirbhar Bharat" (self-reliant India).
Posting in Hindi on X, Mr Kharge revived his party's long-standing criticism of the tax regime.
"Instead of the simple and efficient GST of the Congress party, your government imposed the 'Gabbar Singh Tax' by collecting 9 different slabs and collected over Rs 55 lakh crore in eight years. Now you are talking about a Rs 2.5 lakh crore 'savings festival' and applying a simple band-aid after inflicting deep wounds on the public!"
नौ सौ चूहे खाकर, बिल्ली हज को चली !
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) September 21, 2025
.@narendramodi जी,
आपकी सरकार ने कांग्रेस के सरल और कुशल GST के बजाय, अलग-अलग 9 स्लैब से वसूली कर “गब्बर सिंह टैक्स” लगाया और 8 साल में ₹55 लाख करोड़ से ज़्यादा वसूले।
अब आप ₹2.5 लाख करोड़ के “बचत उत्सव” की बात कर के जनता को गहरे घाव… pic.twitter.com/t7Z64wL67S
He added: "The public will never forget that you collected GST on their pulses, rice, grains, pencils, books, medical treatment, farmers' tractors-everything. Your government should apologise to the public!"
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, speaking earlier in the day, challenged the framing of the reforms as PM Modi's initiative.
"We are losing Rs 20,000 crore as revenue, but we are happy about the lowering of GST. But why are you (Modi) claiming credit for it? We had sought a lowered GST. It was our suggestion at the GST Council meeting with the Union Finance Minister," she said.
Maharashtra Congress amplified the criticism.
Harshwardhan Sapkal, the state party president, accused the Prime Minister of "trying to take credit for the reduction in GST rates."
"It was the PM himself who in 2017 introduced exorbitantly high GST rates that burdened industries, traders and ordinary citizens. The GST collection has doubled to Rs 22 lakh crore in these years, hitting consumers and small businesses the hardest. If Modi takes credit for rate cuts today, he must also accept responsibility for the loot inflicted for eight years," Mr Sapkal said.
He added that Rahul Gandhi had "termed GST 'Gabbar Singh Tax' and consistently demanded relief to stop the loot through high tax rates."
"Marking the commencement of the #NextGenGST as #GSTBachatUtsav PM @narendramodi ji's address to the nation had several messages. Unfortunate, that despite a positive and direction-setting address, our opposition party @INCIndia and its SM eco-system spread negativity and baseless criticism. #NextGenGST is a people-centric reform," the Finance Minister posted on X.
Marking the commencement of the #NextGenGST as #GSTBachatUtsav PM @narendramodi ji's address to the nation had several messages. Unfortunate, that despite a positive and direction-setting address, our opposition party @INCIndia and its SM eco-system spread negativity and baseless…
— Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) September 21, 2025
Ms Sitharaman then listed nine points to break down PM Modi's address.
"Here are the messages from our PM's address:
1. GST reform benefits the poor, the middle class, new middle class, yuva, kisan,women, shopkeepers and udhyami
2. Nagrik Devo Bhava is a strong focus
3. India should be #AtmanirbharBharat
4. We should be proud of swadeshi-"Garv se kaho, ye swadeshi hai"
5. Support local manufacturing
6. Emphasises on cooperative federalism
7. Calls on states to become equal partners in growth
8. We should all work to accelerate growth, make it easy for business to function and be attractive for investment
9. Such a big tax reform became possible by taking all states together, since 2017," she wrote.
