The gap between the rich and the poor has increased under the current government at the Centre, Congress MP Digvijaya Singh said in Rajya Sabha on Thursday, while asking it to impose a "super rich tax" on those whose income has grown even during the Covid pandemic.
Taking part in a debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address, he also alleged that the social fabric and unity in diversity of the country has been disturbed with fanaticism being encouraged.
Singh said when the BJP came to power in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised that black money would be brought back, price rise would be curtailed and employment would be improved, but nothing has happened.
Claiming that in seven years of this government the gap between the rich and the poor has widened, he said the rich has become richer and the poor has become poorer.Citing tax collection data, Singh said under the UPA regime, the rich were taxed more and the common people less.
However, he said after the "suit-boot" government came, in 2021-22, the direct tax collected from individuals has fallen as a proportion to the total tax collected, while the contribution of indirect tax collected from common people has risen This, Singh said, implied that the BJP-led government has collected less tax from rich people and more from poor people.