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All India Trinamool Congress leader and MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay on Friday criticized the Union government, calling the 18 per cent GST on medical and health insurance "anti-people" and said that it is adversely affecting the citizens of the country.
Speaking with the reporters, Bandyopadhyay asserted that the matter of GST on health has been raised by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. He said, "We raised the issue today that GST on life insurance premiums and medicine be withdrawn immediately. Our Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has raised her voice yesterday. We feel that this GST is anti-people. This GST is adversely affecting the people of the country." He further emphasised that the government should take back the move Government must roll back and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman should come to the House and declare it immediately. We will go to the streets if necessary for a bigger movement under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee. Meanwhile, the TMC Lok Sabha MPs also staged a protest, demanding the removal of GST on medical and health insurance. A day before, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urged the central government to roll back GST from life insurance and medical insurance premiums. Taking to X, Mamata Banerjee said, "Our demand to the Government of India is to roll back GST from life insurance and medical insurance premium on grounds of people's health imperatives. This GST is bad because it adversely affects people's ability to take care of their basic vital needs. If the Government of India does not roll back the anti-people GST, we will be bound to hit the road." Earlier on July 31, TMC leader Kunal Ghosh criticised the BJP for withholding funds for the 100-day wage employment scheme, attributing it to the BJP's loss in the 2021 Assembly polls. Ghosh highlighted that TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee had requested Finance Minister Sitharaman to release a white paper detailing budget allocations to West Bengal, a demand that remains unmet. "The central government has not provided funds for the 100-day wage employment scheme, forcing the Chief Minister to disburse Rs 59 lakh from state funds. They cite irregularities to justify withholding funds while BJP-ruled states like UP, Odisha, and MP receive money. We will continue our protest inside and outside Parliament until funds are released for the 100-day wage employment scheme and the housing scheme," Ghosh stated. Ghosh insisted that Sitharaman must produce the white paper requested by Banerjee."In the last four financial years, the BJP has collected Rs4.64 lakh crores in taxes from West Bengal, with pending dues exceeding Rs1.71 lakh crores. We need a white paper on funding for MGNREGA and the housing scheme. The protest will intensify under CM Mamata Banerjee and MP Abhishek Banerjee," he added. (ANI)
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