Era of double saving has arrived, says PM Modi, slams Congress ‘loot tantra’

Citing the benefits of the GST reforms, the PM said they had paved the way for a “bachat utsav” — a savings festival — as prices of several goods had come down.

“A family has to pay only Rs 5,000 to 6,000 as tax for an annual spending of Rs 1 lakh on essential goods, which was Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 during the Congress regime before 2014,” he said. “As compared to the Congress rule, a saving of around Rs 20,000 has been ensured now for the lower middle-class families on spending up to Rs 1 lakh.”

He also criticised the Congress for levying income tax on annual income up to Rs 2 lakh before 2014. “Now, the limit has been increased to Rs 12 lakh,” he said.

Detailing sectoral gains, Modi said the revised GST rate had ensured a saving of up to Rs 40,000 for farmers on tractors, Rs 15,000 on rice-planting machines and Rs 10,000 on power tillers, which he claimed was much higher under the Congress.

Accusing Congress of negating GST cuts through state-level taxes, Modi referred to the Himachal Pradesh government’s move to raise cement levy from `11 to `16/bag days after the GST rate cut. “The Congress government still indulged in looting you. The GST reforms helped in rate cut of cement, which reduced construction cost. But the Congress didn’t want to give the benefit to the people,” he said, adding that Congress-ruled states did the same when the Centre reduced excise duty on petrol and diesel.

“Wherever the Congress remains in power, it indulges in looting the people. Hence, people of the country should be aware of Congress and its allies,” the PM said.

He laid the foundation stone and inaugurated development projects worth over `50,000 crore across telecommunications, railways, higher education, healthcare, skill development and rural housing sectors in the state. The PM laid the foundation stone for `11,000-crore infrastructure expansion projects in eight IITs — Tirupati, Palakkad, Bhilai, Jammu, Dharwad, Jodhpur, Patna and Indore — to increase 12,000 seats over the next four years. He launched the construction of a rail flyover between Sambalpur City and Sarala at an investment of Rs 273 crore and flagged off the Amrit Bharat Express connecting Berhampur with Udhna in Gujarat’s Surat district.

The PM launched the MERITE (Multidisciplinary Education and Research Improvement in Technical Education) scheme, designed to improve quality, equity, research, and innovation in 275 state engineering and polytechnic institutions. He also launched Odisha Skill Development Project Phase-II, which will establish world skill centres at an investment of Rs 1,979 crore in Sambalpur and Berhampur.