Will support GST in LS, but expose deficiencies: Congress

Explaining the Congress' strategy in the Lok Sabha, where the Goods and Services tax (GST) Bill will be tabled on Monday, Leader of opposition in the House, Mallikarjun Kharge said his party would take a similar stance as it had taken in the Rajya Sabha, which passed the Bill with some amendments.

"The Congress party will take a similar stand in the Lok Sabha as it had taken in the Rajya Sabha. We will support the Bill, but will also raise deficiencies in the Bill, as the party had done in the RS. We will tell the people why the Bill was delayed and what were its repercussions, otherwise they would be under impression that the Congress had delayed the Bill," Kharge told ANI.

"There were three major issues, of those the government agreed on two issues, while on the third issue, it said a council of state finance ministers will take the decision. All these are in favour of the people, which we will inform them through the House," he added.

Asserting that the Congress Party-led United Progressive Alliance government wanted to introduce the GST Bill, but was opposed by the then opposition the BJP, the veteran leader said, "We were trying to bring the GST, but the then opposition, and now the ruling party, opposed it."

Talking about the Congress opinion to the GST when it was brought in 2014, Kharge said, "There were some deficiencies in the Bill and we told them (BJP) in the Lok Sabha to send the Bill to the Joint Select Committee, but they did not agree to us at that time. However, later, they agreed in the Rajya Sabha and sent the Bill to the Select Committee."

"What does it imply? They thought that they were in majority in the Lok Sabha, and thus, they would bulldose us. But, the Bill stuck in the Rajya Sabha. Now, we will explain the whole thing to the people," he added.