Congress has concerns over GST, but will support its passage in Maharashtra assembly, says Chavan

With the Maharashtra assembly scheduled to hold a special session on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Amendment Bill on Monday, senior Congress leader and former state chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has said there are still some concerns which they want the Centre to address.

"Today, what is being done is our resolution endorsing the 122nd Constitutional Amendment Bill, which was passed by both Houses of Parliament, will come and we will support the resolution, because we are for the GST. We brought in the concept of GST in the 2006 budget. However, unfortunately, the BJP-ruled states led by the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi opposed the Bill. Now that they are in power, they want to bring it, it's a good provision and we support it," Chavan told ANI.

Elaborating on his concerns, Chavan said, "We have some concerns, particularly regarding the Revenue Neutral Rate (RNR) or the Rate of Tax of GST. We want the tax be less than 18 percent, otherwise, it will lead to huge inflation, and it will be an anti-people measure. There are some other concerns such as the Dispute Resolution Mechanism etc., and I am sure that the government will address those issues."

Reacting to the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) team's questioning of former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit in the alleged water tanker scam on Sunday, Chavan said the ACB inquiry is nothing but a witch hunt.

"It is very unfortunate that the BJP-led central government is targeting all Congress current and former chief ministers. Right from Uttarakhand chief minister to Himachal chief minister to former Haryana chief minister to former Rajasthan chief minister and former Goa chief minister, they are targeting all Congress leaders, and in that series, they are now targeting Shiela Dikshit, whom we have projected as the potential chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. And about this ACB inquiry, I think this is a witch hunt," he added.

Expressing his solidarity with the flood-hit people of Bihar and offering his condolences to the bereaved families who lost their near and dear ones in the floods, Chavan said, "It's very unfortunate that every year Bihar suffers flood damage, hundreds of people lose their lives and lakhs and lakhs of people become homeless. This year again, 153 people have reportedly lost their lives. My heart goes out to these people who are suffering from the floods. We all wish the Chief Minister (Nitish Kumar) does something on permanent basis.