Guwahati, Sep 26 (PTI) Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Friday maintained that the next generation GST reforms, or GST 2.0, has infused a new impetus in economic activities of the country, increasing purchasing power of consumers and driving up sales of sellers.

He dismissed opposition parties’ criticism of the reforms as a manifestation of their ‘internal negativity’.

“I visited many shops and interacted with shopkeepers and customers here. There is an atmosphere of positivity everywhere,” the Union Minister of Communications and Development of North Eastern Region said at a press conference here.

He maintained that the GST 2.0 reforms has injected a new impetus of growth in economic activities through reduced and simplified taxes.

“As a result, customers have more money in hand to spend and consequently, the sale figures of the sellers have gone up. People of all sections, age have benefited,” he claimed.

“These reforms are in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Sabka saath, sabka vikash, sabka vishwas, sabkha prayas’ of together making the country self-reliant and ‘vishwaguru’,” Scindia added.

Asked about opposition parties decrying the reforms, the minister said, “The opposition has no other job but to oppose. If it is a good thing, development, progress, they will oppose. The institutional structure of India, they will try and depose, whether it be the Supreme Court of the Election Commission.” Scindia maintained that the ‘internal negativity’ of the opposition parties has ‘now translated into external negative persona’.

“The people of India have rejected them not once or twice, but three times. But that realisation is still to dawn on them. Let them proceed with their negative agenda, we are on our path of development,” he added.

The Union Communications minister further said the inauguration of close to 98,000 mobile 4G towers across the country and the Swadeshi 4G network on Saturday will be a golden day for the country.

He claimed that no part of the country will be left untouched and it will not be only about connecting the people with the internet, but with the world.

The inauguration will be done for 10-12 states simultaneously by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Odisha, with Scindia to attend the programme for Assam which is among the states to be covered.

The union minister also paid his tributes to singer Zubeen Garg, who had died by drowning in Singapore on September 19, and said the nation has lost an icon. PTI SSG NN

GST reforms increase consumer purchasing power and sales while drawing political criticism over reform motives. GST 2.0 reforms reduce and simplify indirect taxation to stimulate economic activity by increasing consumer purchasing power and raising sellers' sales; political criticism is characterised as partisan negativity. The government is also inaugurating a national rollout of 4G mobile towers and a Swadeshi 4G network to expand connectivity and integrate regions digitally.