8-year GST rejig delay cost public lakhs of crore: CM Stalin

CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday criticised the Union government for claiming credit over recent GST reforms and income tax relief, alleging that the Centre was overlooking the financial role played by states.

In a social media post, Stalin referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement that Indians would save Rs 2.5 lakh crore through GST cuts and higher income tax exemption limits. He said these measures had been consistently demanded by the Opposition for years. “If such steps had been taken eight years ago, families across the country would already have saved several lakh crores,” he wrote.

The Chief Minister said half of the relief announced had in fact come from the share of state governments, a fact the Union government had “failed to acknowledge or appreciate.” He also accused the BJP-led Centre of denying Tamil Nadu its rightful share of funds, citing the withholding of Samagra Shiksha allocations. “Funds are being denied to Tamil Nadu only because we refuse to accept Hindi imposition, “ Stalin charged.

Reiterating the need for cooperative federalism, Stalin said, “India cannot grow by punishing states that defend their rights and stand for their people. Respect federalism, release the funds, and allow citizens to benefit from what is rightfully theirs.”

Marking the rollout coinciding with the commencement of the Navratri festival, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an open letter to Indians on September 22, said, “We have strengthened the hands of the middle class with the massive income tax cuts, which ensure zero tax up to the annual income of Rs 12 lakh. If we combine the income tax cuts and the next general GST reforms, they add up to savings of nearly Rs 2.5 lakh crore for the people.”