Congress party real authors of GST, says Anand Sharma

Congress MP and deputy leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma on Saturday said the Congress party is the real author of GST(Goods and Services Tax) Bill and assured that the country will have GST after debate with the government.

"We have been the real authors of GST and we have put across some very genuine concerns. The Opposition is ready to debate with the Government on this. The country will have a GST and there is no doubt about that," Sharma said while addressing FICCI's 88th Annual General Meeting here.

Sharma said the Opposition have lent support to key bills in the Parliament adding that it is extremely important for the Government and the Opposition to work together to fulfil the aspirations of the people.

"We have lent our support for passage of some of the key bills in the Parliament recently. We feel that it is extremely important for the Government and the Opposition to work together. And this is most imperative to assure that the aspirations of our young population are met. About two third of our population is below 35 years of age, which is a massive 800 million people. It is for this youth to dream and for us to work towards the fulfillment of their dreams," he said

He said that at this juncture, there is a need for policies that reflect continuity, predictability and stability, which at present is being threatened.

"Merely rebranding and repackaging of policies would not help the economy which at present is sputtering. The present Government needs to decentralise and delegate, in order to meet its claim of improving the governance situation," he said.

"There is a need to undertake a realistic appraisal of where we stand today in terms of our economic situation. If we look at the GDP number there has been only a marginal improvement in growth if go by the new base year numbers. Private investments remain weak and credit offtake has witnessed a significant decline," he said.