Members of the INDIA Bloc on Tuesday staged a protest on the Parliament premises demanding the rollback of the 18 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) on life and health insurance premiums. MPs from various parties, including TMC, Congress, AAP, and NCP (SC), gathered on the steps leading to Makar Dwar, carrying placards reading “Tax terrorism” and raising slogans against the tax.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge criticized the GST hike, describing it as a severe blow to the middle class, which is already struggling under the burden of high taxes and medical inflation. He called the tax an example of the BJP’s exploitative policies.
In a post in Hindi on X, Kharge said, “Today in the Parliament premises, INDIA parties demanded immediate removal of 18% GST on health and life insurance premiums as this extortion is a severe blow to our people, especially the middle class.”
“The middle class is already struggling under the burden of the Modi government’s tax collection policies. India’s medical inflation rate is the highest in Asia in 2024 - at 14%! On top of that, this ‘Gabbar Singh Tax’ on life insurance and health insurance is inhuman, and another condemnable example of BJP’s policy of plundering from ‘opportunity in disaster’,” Kharge said.
In a post in Hindi on X, Rahul Gandhi said, “The Modi government even collected Rs 24,000 crore from millions of common Indians who pay health insurance premiums every year by saving every penny to ensure that they do not have to bow down to anyone in case of a ‘health crisis’ in life.” Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said the INDIA bloc parties’ protest against the imposition of 18 per cent GST on life and medical insurance premiums is absolutely justified.
“India is already the country whose citizens pay the highest out-of-pocket expenses for health crises in the world. Senior citizens who have taken health insurance are now paying the highest GST rates in the world.
How does the government intend to attain the goal of ‘insurance for all by 2047’, when it is instead ensuring the unaffordability of insurance to most?” Tharoor said on X.
Trinamool Congress MPs and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee have been raising the issue, writing to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has also urged the Finance Minister to reconsider the GST, arguing that it hinders the growth of the insurance industry and penalizes individuals facing life uncertainties.