The Bengaluru District Committee of the All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) held a protest in the city against the price hike due to GST imposition on Friday. The protest was held against the GST imposition on milk products and several other essential food items.
The Centre has decided to impose GST on six basic milk products, leading to an increase in prices. "Imposing taxes on such products can result in deficiency of nutrients among children and adults as these products are the main source of protein and calcium for a large part of the society, especially for vegetarians. Nearly 30-35% of the earnings goes into food and minimum wages are not being raised, at such time the government should not expect a common man to pay 5% more tax on basic things," said Vijay Bhaskar, state general secretary of AITUC.
GST imposition on such commodities can disturb the economy. The Centre is adopting the ‘One Nation, One Tax’ policy but the minimum wages are not the same across the country. Implementing taxes and such policies is not fair on the part of small and medium-scale industries and manufacturers as it only assists large corporations which have a presence throughout India.
"Through such campaigns we are trying to bring awareness among citizens as food is a basic need and imposing taxes on such items can disturb the livelihood of citizens," he added.