The newly implemented GST had stirred protests and strikes long before it was introduced on 1 July 2017. Protests followed one after another in various parts of the country. Protesters in Surat, Jaipur, Kanpur, Bhopal and several other places in the country employed different means to express their opposition to the GST, some by halting trains, shutting markets or preparing for an indefinite band.
Surat, considered a hub of textile industry, produces 60% of the country’s synthetic cloth. Small business traders were hit by implementation of the GST. The city alone holds more than 7,20,000 looms operated by over 1,50,000 entrepreneurs.
According to the workers, the GST levied on them will mean that they pay 20% more tax than bigger companies.
Video Editor: Mohd Irshad Alam
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