Rahul Gandhi demands total rollback of ‘disability tax’

New Delhi: After boycotting the midnight GST launch on Friday, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi hit out at the government on Monday for taxing equipment for differently-abled people. He also sought the immediate rollback of the tax, and said in a tweet: “GST on disability aids like wheelchairs and Braille typewriters once again shows this government’s complete insensitivity towards our most vulnerable. Congress Party demands a full rollback of this ‘disability tax’ that will put millions of our disabled people through further hardship.”

In the new GST regime that kicked in from July 1, tax rates for Braille typewriters and papers, carriages for the disabled and wheelchairs and other assistive devices were fixed at rates varying between five to 18 per cent.

The Congress also launched an attack against the government for imposing tax on disability aids. It put out remarks criticising the move on its Twitter handle.

Earlier too, Mr Gandhi had written to the commerce minister to reduce import duty on equipment that help visually-challenged people. These suggestions were accepted by the government and were acted upon in the Union Budget as well.

The rollout of GST has drawn flak from the Congress, which termed it as a “tamasha”. It said on Twitter: “By hastily rolling out GST, Modi Govt has abandoned those who need its support the most. #GSTTamasha.”

In Parliament’s coming Monsoon Session, the Congress plans to raise issues related to the imposition of tax rates on several commodities. The party is keen to have other Opposition parties on board too in order to collectively corner the government.