‘Middle class is being looted’: Shehzad Poonawalla’s last remarks before official resignation from BJP

In a video posted on Instagram, Shehzad Poonawalla said the middle class had effectively been reduced to an “ATM” for the government.

BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla raised concerns over the financial burden on India’s middle class and questioned whether taxpayers receive public services matching the taxes they pay, a day before he publicly announced his resignation as a party spokesperson.

Shehzad Poonawalla resigned from as BJP spokesperson last month. His resignation, however, is yet to be accepted. He has, meanwhile, started a new initiative on social media to raise concerns of the middle class families. (PTI File Photo)

In a video posted on Instagram as 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.

Poonawalla’s 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.

In the video, however, 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.

He questioned what taxpayers get in return for the taxes and tolls they pay, 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.

Poonawalla said the issue was not limited to any one government or political party, arguing that Indian taxpayers and the middle class had faced the problem since Independence.

He also pointed to the growing dependence on private services for essential needs, saying 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.

Poonawalla's proposals for middle class

Poonawalla 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.

He also called for greater accountability in the use of taxpayers’ money, saying every rupee collected through personal income tax should be used efficiently.

“Tax slabs need to be increased,” Poonawalla said, adding that the government must ensure that “every rupee of personal income tax that the taxpayer pays is efficiently used.”