Heat on him in Punjab, Raghav Chadha earns reprieve with Bill, GST reversal

This Parliament session is proving to be just what the doctor ordered for Raghav Chadha, a Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab. On Friday, Chadha introduced a Private Member’s Bill seeking a legislation guaranteeing minimum support price, and declared that he will fight for farmers’ rights till his very last breath.

Before that, Chadha met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to seek withdrawal of 12% GST on guesthouses near the Golden Temple, likening them to jizya tax imposed by the Mughals on non-Muslim subjects. Subsequently, on Thursday, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) rolled back the order.Appointed co-in charge of AAP in Punjab in December 2020, the 33-year-old has been assiduously building a base in the state. The former MLA from Rajinder Nagar, Delhi, criss-crossed Punjab for over 14 months in the run-up to the Assembly elections in February 2022. He worked extensively in the border region of Majha before the civic polls and is said to have laid the ground for AAP’s win in the volatile belt by building a robust organisational structure there. Closer to the polls, he was seen to have had a hand in the selection of candidates.