‘It’s their political compulsion’, Modi govt’s reply to critics of GST

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said the opposition is criticising the GST because of “their political compulsion”.

New Delhi, June 30: On one hand, members of the ruling BJP-led NDA and other invited dignitaries are all ready to be a part of the midnight grand event of the launch of Goods and Services Tax (GST) at Parliament's Central Hall on the intervening night of Friday-Saturday, critics of the latest tax regime decided to "boycott" the event.

Several opposition parties including the Congress and the Left have decided to skip the launch event, primarily citing the fact that India is not ready to embrace the GST as of now.

They alleged that the Modi government was in a hurry to introduce the GST which would directly impact thousands of small and medium businesses bringing large-scale loss to the overall economy.

In reply to the opposition's allegations, senior BJP leader and Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari told NDTV that the critics like Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee are opposing the GST because of "their political compulsion".

The GST may not be perfect and may cause some inconvenience initially but the government will make amendments if that happened, Gadkari said.

"I won't say that it (GST) is perfect or that people won't face any kind of inconvenience initially. It is a beginning," Gadkari said at the Aaj Tak GST Conclave.

"Some hard steps are needed to be taken but it will ultimately have a positive impact," he said.

Earlier in the day, Gandhi dubbed the implementation of GST as a "tamasha", saying the reform was being rushed through in a "half-baked" manner as a "self-promotional spectacle".

Gandhi, currently abroad on a holiday, hit out at the government, accusing it of being "insensitive" for rolling out the GST without planning, foresight and institutional readiness, as it did during demonetisation.

"A reform that holds great potential is being rushed through in a half-baked way with a self-promotional spectacle #GSTTamasha," he said on Twitter.

The WB CM said that the rules contain a draconian arrest clause which would hamper small and medium businesses.

"I am shocked to find that the GST rules contain a rather draconian arrest clause which can lead to major harassment of business, particularly the small and medium, with some sections even being non-bailable too,"Banerjee said in a Facebook post.

She added that under the current value-added tax (VAT) regime, the field officials of the State do not have the power to make arrests.

"At the stroke of midnight on August 14, 1947, India won her freedom. Now, at the midnight of June 30, 2017, freedom and democracy stand to face grave danger," she added.

OneIndia News