New Delhi: Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) MLA Gandra Venkataramana Reddy Wednesday shared an image of what appeared to be an Amul advertisement with a tagline that read “Ab Ki Baar GST Ka Maar” which translates to “This time GST will hurt people”, a reference to the 5 per cent hike in Goods and Services Tax (GST) on some essential items.
Reddy, the MLA for the Bhupalpally constituency, wrote a caption that said, “Galat Sarkar Tax 5 per cent Hike on Milk #DhokhebaazModi”.
It was also tweeted by Manne Krishank, social media convenor of the TRS. While Reddy’s tweet was retweeted more than 300 times and has almost 500 likes, Krishank’s tweet was retweeted almost 800 times and has 1,300 likes.
Galat Sarkar Tax 5% Hike on Milk#DhokhebaazModi @KTRTRS @kmr_ktr @BTR_KTR pic.twitter.com/lCO4ltnX3h
— Avudutha mahender Ktr (@AMRKTRTRS) July 20, 2022
Galat Sarkar Tax 5% Hike on Milk#DhokhebaazModi pic.twitter.com/hK5kULHraX
— Shailesh Verma (@shaileshvermasp) July 20, 2022
Earlier this week, the Centre had announced a 5 per cent hike in GST on products including pre-packaged and pre-labelled curd, lassi and butter, which were earlier exempt from the tax. The ‘Amul ad’ features its mascot in a Nehru jacket, typically worn by politicians, and shows her taking a selfie with PM Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
Fact Check
The ‘Amul ad’ that was shared by Reddy, Krishank and other social media users has been edited by changing the tagline on a 2014 advertisement celebrating Narendra Modi’s victory in the general elections.
The original ad had the tagline ‘Ab Ki Bar, Bhajap Sweekar’ referencing the BJP’s landslide win in the 2014 elections. Amul had used the word ‘Bhajap’ rather than the better-known ‘Bhajpa’. The word ‘Bhajap’ is widely used in Gujarat for the BJP.
(In collaboration with SM Hoaxslayer)