Unfortunately, the side of the state border on which you live now determines how much more resources the state will take from you. A clear cut divide is visible in the governance style of different states. And there is no price for guessing; the divide is between BJP- and non-BJP-ruled states.
This was recently highlighted by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who called out the hypocrisy of the opposition parties during her reply on the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha.
Finance Minister Calls Out UPA’s “Trickery” in Relieving Burden
The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addressed the Lok Sabha to reply on the points raised by the opposition parties during the ongoing debate on the Union Budget 2023–24. Without mincing her words, she slammed the Congress party for hypocritically hurling corruption accusations against the incumbent Modi government.
In a strong hitback, she said, “Before you speak of corruption, wash your mouth with Dettol. Look who’s talking about corruption!”
Read More: Nirmala Sitharaman thrashes the rumour mongers over GST on food items
She further schooled the opposition on oil prices and dubbed the opposition’s oil bonds “trickery.” She also slammed the opposition-ruled states of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Kerala for raising VAT on fuel, despite the fact that the Modi government had cut excise duty on petrol and diesel twice since 2021.
She said,”Oil bonds are trickery because if you want to give subsidies to relieve the burden, they [UPA] could’ve cut down excise duty as we did, but UPA didn’t do it. They shifted the burden to oil marketing companies, which constitutes revenue expenditure and doesn’t create assets”.
The Finance Minister also drew attention to the fact that the Himachal Pradesh Congress government increased the state’s VAT by INR 3 per litre soon after assuming office. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab recently increased VAT by 90 paise per litre. Similar to this, Kerala’s government recently opted to levy INR 2 per litre of gasoline and diesel.
Read More: A bad day for Nirmala haters, a brilliant day for Rahul Memers
Previously, the Modi government reduced excise duty to ease the burden on consumers as import prices rose in 2021 and 2022. However, states like Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, and Jharkhand either increased taxes rather than lowering state VAT or made limited reductions.
It is unfortunate that for petty political purposes, several opposition parties have chosen a confrontational political approach rather than embracing competitive federalism. The pitiful reality is that people are bearing the consequences of their political decisions, which is a bad omen for democracy.
Support TFI:
Support us to strengthen the ‘Right’ ideology of cultural nationalism by purchasing the best quality garments from TFI-STORE.COM
