Congress to stage protest over GST outside Parliament on July 18

Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken . Photo: PTI (File)

New Delhi: Congress on Tuesday said that it will stage a protest against Goods and Services Tax in its present format outside Parliament on July 18. "A gherao of Parliament House would be held to protest against GST in its present form on July 18," Congress' Delhi Chief Ajay Maken told reporters at a press conference here. "Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi has opposed the GST in its present form because the BJP-led central government has created six slabs in the GST with a 40 per cent outer limit whereas the party was in favour of GST with 14 per cent as the outer limit," he said. The former Union Minister also said that lakh of people demonstrated against GST in Gujarat's Surat in which not only traders, but also workers and common people participated. He also said that the traders of the city were fed up with GST and from time to time, the traders' associations of Delhi had informed about their plight and problems. Maken said the adverse impact of GST was not only affecting the traders, but also the common people. Hitting out at the centre, he said: "The world over, wherever GST has been implemented, an outer limit has been set, but the BJP-led Central government has created six GST slabs with an outer limit of 40 per cent." He further said that said after implementing the GST by the BJP-led Central Government, the "roti, kapada aur makan" of the common people have been affected as prices have soared sky-high, and the prices of essential commodities have gone beyond the reach of the common people.