New Delhi, Sep 29: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday lashed out at the Congress-led government in Himachal Pradesh for hiking cement price to blunt the benefit of the recent GST cut, saying they are busy “filling their own pockets”.

Speaking at the inauguration of Delhi BJP’s new building, PM Modi said, “The day we cut the GST on cement, the Himachal Pradesh government increased its price. They immediately raised the price and got down to filling their pockets.”

PM Modi asked each BJP worker to ensure that the benefits of the next-generation GST reforms percolate down to the common people.

“You also have to promote Swadeshi products and ensure that boards are put up at every shop and people take pride in selling Swadeshi products in their establishments,” he said.

PM Modi said, “Swadeshi products need to be promoted to make India self-reliant.”

Highlighting the government’s priority to give attention to public security and ridding the nation of corruption, the PM said the recently introduced GST reforms and the increase in limit of taxable income have resulted in annual, nationwide public savings of Rs 2.50 lakh crore.

“Before 2014, when a family spent Rs 1 lakh, an amount of Rs 25,000 was lost to various taxes. Today, after the GST 2.0 reform, an expenditure of Rs 1 lakh results in payment of a tax of only Rs 5,000,” he added.

PM Modi said that across the country, BJP governments are working on models inspired by ‘Sushasan’, focusing on the delivery of services.

He said it was this aim of raising the savings of common people that his government raised the taxable income limit from Rs 2 lakh in 2014 to Rs 12 lakh.

PM Modi also called upon BJP workers to help women across the country to avail the ongoing free medical screening campaign ‘Sashakt Nari Sashakt Parivar Abhiyan’ under which as many as 3 crore women have already been examined for detecting TB, breast cancer, cervical cancer and other ailments.

--IANS

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