- Says Arun Yadav in open letter to PM
Bhopal: Former Union Minister and ex-President of the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee, Arun Yadav, has issued a scathing open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing the government of exploiting farmers through what he calls the “Gabbar Singh Tax,” a term used by farmers for the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
Yadav stated he was writing not as a political leader but as a “victimised farmer,” demanding that the government reveal how much revenue it has collected from farmers over the past eight years under the guise of GST.
False relief, real exploitation
Yadav criticized the government’s dual policy, where it offers a token annual support of Rs 4,000 to Rs 6,000 while simultaneously imposing high GST on essential farming equipment, tractors, and chemicals. “While one hand offered relief, the other ruthlessly plundered the farmer through the ‘Gabbar Singh Tax’,” he wrote.
He highlighted Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s recent press conference, where he announced GST rate cuts on tractors and farm equipment. Yadav questioned why this “savings” was only being offered now, indirectly admitting to the financial burden farmers have been carrying for eight years. He estimated that based on tractor sales, the government has collected an astronomical sum from farmers.
Disappointment and demands
Yadav expressed the profound disappointment of farmers who had hoped for a relief announcement in the Prime Minister’s recent address to the nation, calling the speech “crocodile tears.”
He made four specific demands: a comprehensive review of the “Gabbar Singh Tax,” a transparent account of the money collected from farmers over the past eight years, a shift in focus from taxing farmers to taxing industrialists to provide relief, and finally, for the government to give real justice and respect to the nation’s farmers.
