It would not be wrong to say -- parota is not a feeling but an emotion. Be it a foodie or a dainty eater, parota has never been a mere flatbread but certainly a beau idéal of the menu-card.
Seperate GST ruling on parotas
However, things are not going to be the same hereafter with parota it seems. In a never-before manner, a separate Goods Services Tax (GST) percentage imposed has been imposed on parota alone.
According to the latest GST ruling, the Karnataka bench of Authority for Advance Rulings (AAR) has imposed a higher GST rate of 18% on the parotas; while rotis, on the other hand, are subjected to a lower rate of 5%.
And seems like Twitter cannot bear this discriminatory pain anymore.
What underlines the 'food racism' in the new order is the wide chasm the government has 'seen' between the two Indian breads-roti and parts.
Twitter rages against the ruling
The basis of the new ruling, according to concerned authority is the generic backdrop of the rotis, under which other Indian breads cannot be classified.
In addition to this, parotas are those bread items that need to be heated before consumption, hence the tax.
"This is totally absurd! This is nothing but food fascism," wrote one user slamming the decision of imposing 18% GST on parotas.
No sooner did the #Handsoffparota start trending on Twitter following the loud protests against the GST ruling.
Most of the tweets sharing the hashtag slams the AAR's decision, calling it 'discriminatory' and 'biased.' "Dear Hindians, Stop playing with our food culture. Porotta AKA Malabar Parota is national food of Keralities. Imposing 18% GST on it is totally unacceptable. Stop food racism," read a tweet.
Meanwhile, prominent Twiterrati and business mogul Anand Mahindra too took to his Twitter handle to mention on the new move. "With all the other challenges the country is facing, it makes you wonder if we should be worrying about an existential crisis for the 'Parota.' In any case, given Indian jugaad skills, I'm pretty sure there will be a new breed of 'Parotis' that will challenge any categorisation!" wrote Mahindra.
