Vibrant Gujarat probe: FM may clear stand today

Under pressure from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee may give a statement over the income-tax probe on memoranda of understanding (MoUs) signed by Gujarat during the Vibrant Gujarat Summits held during 2009 and 2011.

While an agitated BJP wanted an immediate reply after raising the issue on Wednesday in the Rajya Sabha, the government has offered a clarification on Thursday by the finance minister if the Opposition wishes so.

As soon as the House began for the day, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley, raised the issue and termed the income-tax notice as discriminatory.

On February 17, the Directorate of Income Tax had issued an order to the Gujarat government seeking details of all the MoUs signed by the state and private entrepreneurs, whether domestic or foreign, who came and attended the Vibrant Gujarat Summit. “This is a huge assault on federalism in India. There is no greater abuse,” said Jaitley, as JD(U) member N K Singh supported him and sought to know, “Under which law has it been ordered?”

Alleging it was a political conspiracy, Jaitley said, “Here is a state which is economically doing well. The state has institutionalised a system of attracting investment through this annual meet. Ahead of this annual investors’ meet, you first have the political party in Opposition making a public statement that the finance ministry must use the Income Tax Department to ensure that whoever enters into an MoU with the state will be enquired into by the department.”

Later, at a meeting with the Opposition parties at the Rajya Sabha chairman’s chamber, the government tried to counter that the tax probe was not against the Gujarat government but a routine check on the corporate sector.

Tension mounted between the two sides as the finance minister was away from Delhi and couldn’t respond on the issue. While Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal tried to respond on behalf of the party, the Opposition rejected the offer and demanded immediate withdrawal of the I-T letter.

In a bid to garner support, Jaitley added that every state government ruled by a non-Congress party has been complaining of discrimination of this kind. “Earlier in this House, I had referred to what is happening in Orissa, what is happening in Uttar Pradesh. These are not governments controlled by my party; they are controlled by parties which we do not agree with. The West Bengal government is objecting on how the Centre is discriminating against them,” Jaitley said.