Cong slams Modi over EPF rate cut, says govt backstabbing honest tax payers

Congress claimed that post 2014-15, this was the second such reduction on EPF interest rate.

EPF0 Rate Cut : The Congress accused the Narendra Modi government of “back stabbing” honest tax payers by lowering the interest rate on EPF.

The party also alleged that it the government was indulging in “organised fleecing” and “legalised pilferage”.

Congress communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala said that the prime minister had promised to bring ‘achhe din’ (good days), but in the last four years his actions have only brought ‘burre din’ (bad days) to the people of the country.

“Post the colossal loss of almost Rs 300 billion ‘loot’ and scams being unravelled in the past seven days, the Modi government has once again back stabbed the common people and honest tax payers of the country by reducing the interest rates on EPF Rate Cut from 8.65 per cent to 8.55 per cent,” he said.

The Congress leader claimed that post 2014-15, this was the second such reduction and interest rate on EPF has now been reduced twice from 8.75 per cent (in 2014-15) now to just 8.55 per cent.

Earlier in December 2017, he said the Centre had cut the interest rate on small savings schemes, including the Public Provident Fund (PPF), National Savings Certificate (NSC) and Kisan Vikas Patra, by 0.2 percentage points for the January-March quarter.

“Since Modi came to power in 2014, his government has indulged in a systematic reduction of interest rates which have extinguished the savings of crores of common people,” he said.