A video of Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate in which she can be heard talking about Goods and Service Tax (GST) on puja (worship) materials is being shared on social media platforms.
Here is what Shrinate said: There is no GST on the following religious materials: rudraksh (religious bead), tulsi mala (holy basil rosary), yagyopaveet (sacred thread), unbranded honey, kalava (religious thread), vibhuti (sacred ash), roli (auspicious powder), chandan tika (sandalwood paste), lamp wicks, khadau (footwear worn by priests), and charanamrit (edible temple offering).
What is the claim?: Users claimed that Congress has expressed dissatisfaction over religious goods of Hindus being tax-free in India.
This video is from a press conference held by Shrinate on 17 October.
In the longer version of the video, she was speaking against the GST imposition on the pious Gangajal (water from the river Ganga) by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
She told the press that the government first imposed the tax and then revoked it after Congress raised its voice against this issue.
How did we find out?: We ran a relevant keyword search on YouTube and came across a video of Shrinate on Congress's official page from 17 October. It included similar visuals as the viral video.
It was a press conference held by Shrinate on 17 October.
What Shrinate said in the press conference:
Around the 3:05 minute timestamp, Shrinate raised a sheet of paper which showed India Post's post on X (formerly Twitter) from 18 August. She said, "This is India Post's tweet from 18 August which says that on 30 percent plus 18 percent GST, you will get a 250 ml bottle of Gangajal."
`She went on to say that when Congress raised this issue, the government lied by removing the 18 percent GST mentioned from India Post bills.
However, she produced a pay order from India Post which "clearly mentioned Rs 30 bottle and 18 percent GST."
Shrinate spoke about an order dated 12 October which noted that the orders of "8 August and 3 October should be considered withdrawn and GST will not be imposed on Gangajal."
She highlighted that this meant that GST was imposed on Gangajal at first.
At 5:26 minutes, the spokesperson also produced a screenshot of the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBIC) which listed the items taxed under GST.
She said, "It has ten items of puja samagri on which GST is not imposed."
At 6:09 minutes of the video, Shrinate mentions the items that do not fall under GST which is also in the viral video.
At 7:09 minutes, she said, "Till now there is no description of Gangajal in this list. This is from the GST website. Nil GST is levied on these 10 items which I have just listed in front of you."
She concluded her press conference by targeting the BJP government by saying, "The self-proclaimed contractors of religion first of all cheat the followers of religion."
Shrinate also posted a detailed summary of her press conference on her official X account on 17 October.
Conclusion: It is clear that Shrinate's video has been clipped to imply that the Congress party is unhappy with items used for religious practices falling under the 'nil' category of GST.
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