New Delhi: A remark by BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla about the financial burden on India’s middle class, a day before his resignation from the post of party spokesperson, has caught attention.
In a video statement, Poonawalla questioned whether taxpayers receive public services matching the taxes they pay.
The video was part of his social media initiative, ‘The Manifesto’, Poonawalla said the middle class had effectively become an “ATM” for the government, paying income tax, indirect taxes and tolls without receiving adequate public services in return.
His remarks came a day before he put out a statement saying he had resigned as a BJP spokesperson, with his resignation pending approval. He said he had submitted his resignation on July 30 and cited a focus on his financial circumstances as one of the reasons for the decision, as reported by Hindustan Times.
Poonawalla took up issues concerning the middle class and questioned whether Indians paying taxes at levels comparable to those in Europe receive a similar standard of living in return.
“The Indian middle class is being looted in broad daylight. He has become like an ATM,” Poonawalla said.
What do taxpayers get in return for the taxes and tolls they pay, he asked, listing poor roads, inadequate schools, crumbling infrastructure, paper leaks, corruption and lack of accountability among their concerns.
“They pay taxes, tolls, and what do they get in return? Bad roads outside your house, bad schools, bad crumbling infrastructure, paper leaks, corruption, lack of accountability, toxic air, toxic water,” he said.
The issue was not limited to any one government or political party, Poonawalla insisted, arguing that Indian taxpayers and the middle class had faced the problem since Independence.
Pointing to the growing dependence on private services for essential needs, he said how families often have to turn to private schools for their children’s education and private hospitals for their parents’ healthcare.
“When you need to send your child to a school, it is invariably a private school. When you need to send your parents to a hospital, invariably, it is a private hospital,” he said.
He called for lower taxes on the middle class, particularly salaried taxpayers, and an increase in income-tax slabs.
“Cut taxes for the middle class. The salaried class should not be paying such high taxes. They need to be given a break,” he said.
Poonawalla also called for greater accountability in the use of taxpayers’ money, saying every rupee collected through personal income tax should be used efficiently.