Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched a sharp attack on the Congress party and Opposition leaders, accusing them of “spreading lies” about the Goods and Services Tax (GST) reforms. Addressing a gathering at the UP International Trade Show (UPITS), the Prime Minister positioned the new reforms as a turning point in India’s economic journey while painting a bleak picture of the Congress-led tax system before 2014. According to Modi, the new phase of GST reform—implemented just days ago on September 22, 2025—marks a “structural shift” in India’ taxation system. These reforms, he said, will simplify GST registration, reduce long-pending tax disputes, and accelerate refunds for MSMEs, which form the backbone of India’s economy. The Prime Minister argued that the Opposition is deliberately attempting to mislead the public despite these tangible benefits. “The Congress and its allies, who were running the government before 2014, are lying to the public to hide failures of their government,” Modi declared. He alleged that before his government, India suffered from what he called “tax loot”, where citizens were squeezed under the weight of multiple levies and the “looted money was being looted further.” To strengthen his argument, Modi illustrated several examples comparing pre-2014 tax rates with the present-day GST structure: Daily essentials: In 2014, spending ₹100 on basic goods like toothpaste, shampoo, or shaving cream meant paying ₹31 in taxes. Under GST reforms, that same basket costs only ₹105—reflecting a saving of ₹26 compared to the pre-GST era.
Clothing: A shirt priced at ₹1,000 carried ₹170 in taxes before 2014. Post-GST 2017 reforms reduced this to ₹50, and under the September 2025 revision, it now attracts just ₹35 in tax.
Household budgets: Modi said that in 2014, a family spending ₹1 lakh annually on necessities would end up paying ₹20,000–₹25,000 in taxes. Today, the same family pays only ₹5,000–₹6,000 annually.
Farmers and rural economy: Tractors, once taxed over ₹70,000, now incur only ₹30,000, delivering savings of more than ₹40,000 for farmers.
Affordable mobility: Auto-rickshaws, once taxed at ₹55,000, now attract only ₹35,000. Scooters are ₹8,000 cheaper and motorcycles ₹9,000 cheaper compared to the pre-2014 period.
These comparisons, Modi argued, directly benefit the poor, the neo-middle class, and the middle class, easing both household budgets and business costs. The Prime Minister went a step further by branding the reform-driven relief as a “GST Bachat Utsav” (Savings Festival), portraying it as a celebration for ordinary citizens. He also claimed that by making income up to ₹12 lakh tax-free and implementing these GST cuts, Indian households will collectively save ₹2.5 lakh crore this year alone.
Modi divided India’s taxation journey into three phases:
1. Pre-GST chaos – a system burdened with multiple overlapping taxes.
2. Post-2017 GST era – where many taxes were streamlined.
3. Next-generation GST reforms (2025) – which he claims will usher in efficiency, transparency, and greater savings.
The Prime Minister’s speech was not just an economic defence but also a political offensive. By contrasting the present with the Congress-era tax system, Modi sought to establish his government as the guardian of “people’s savings” while casting the Opposition as dishonest actors who profit from confusion. However, critics may argue that while headline tax reductions provide relief, the government’s larger challenge lies in addressing job creation, inflationary pressures, and small business compliance burdens that GST still imposes. For many MSMEs, paperwork and technical glitches remain a bottleneck despite the promises of “simplification.” The political battle over GST is as much about narrative as it is about numbers. Modi’s strategy clearly positions GST reforms as a populist measure benefiting the common man while branding the Opposition as regressive and misleading. But whether ordinary citizens feel these savings in their wallets—and whether the reforms genuinely ease business operations—will ultimately determine the credibility of this bold pitch.
Modi Accuses Congress of Spreading Lies on GST while the government celebrates its so-called “GST Bachat Utsav”, the ground reality is far less rosy than the Prime Minister’s narrative suggests. For millions of small traders, farmers, and MSMEs, GST has not always been a festival of savings but a maze of compliance, penalties, and bureaucratic hurdles. Prices of essentials may look cheaper in selective examples, but ordinary citizens continue to grapple with inflation, stagnant wages, and job insecurity—factors the government routinely sidesteps in its speeches. By reducing the debate to a simple comparison of shirts, tractors, and scooters, the government risks trivializing the deeper structural issues: tax compliance costs remain high, rural demand is sluggish, and small businesses are still struggling to survive. The rhetoric of “savings” cannot hide the fact that India’s GST regime has concentrated power in the hands of the Centre, often leaving states cash-strapped and dependent.
If GST truly brought so much relief, one must ask: why do citizens still feel the pinch of rising household expenses, and why do businesses still complain of delayed refunds and procedural complexity? Instead of dismissing the Opposition as “liars,” the government must answer these uncomfortable questions. Without accountability and honest evaluation, Modi’s grand claims risk being reduced to little more than political spectacle dressed as economic reform.