What does middle class get in return for paying taxes? Shahzad Poonawalla raises tough questions

Questions surrounding the tax burden on India’s middle class have sparked fresh political debate after BJP leader Shahzad Poonawalla raised a series of pointed questions concerning taxpayers and public services.

Poonawalla questioned what the middle class actually receives in return for paying substantial amounts of tax. He argued that if citizens are expected to pay taxes according to global standards, they should also receive high-quality civic and social services comparable to global standards.

Meanwhile, opposition parties have intensified their criticism of the Centre over the issue of caste census and what they describe as a change in the government’s earlier position.

Congress communications in-charge and general secretary Jairam Ramesh, in a post on social media platform X, claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a complete U-turn by announcing a caste census on April 30, 2025.

Ramesh recalled that on September 21, 2021, the Modi government had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court opposing a petition seeking a caste census. Referring to paragraph 12(d) of the affidavit, he claimed that no caste register had been prepared before the 2011 Census and argued that a reliable mechanism, including a proper drop-down menu, would have been required for such an exercise.