Rahul Gandhi bats for people friendly GST Bill

He said that they want a GST Bill that suits the country and is beneficial for the people

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said that the opposition would not stall the Parliament just for sake of it but because they want a Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill that suits the country and is beneficial for the people.

"We are not stalling the Parliament just for the sake of stalling the Parliament. We want a GST that is beneficial for country. We want a GST that suits the country," said Gandhi while addressing the students at Mount Carmel College here.

Gandhi, who was responding to a question as to why the Congress was stalling the GST Bill, said that they do not want the people to suffer under the idea of 'Suit Boot ki Sarkar' and was just trying to protect them.

"We very strongly believe in a GST Bill, but one which has a cap on tax, not the one in which there is an unlimited amount of tax on the people of India. We want a cap on the tax that can be charged to protect you. We don't want a situation where there is no cap," he said.
 

 

Gandhi recalled an instance when the microphone was switched off in the Parliament during Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge's address.

"When Mr. Kharge was speaking in the Parliament, they used to switch off the microphone. If the government wants to pass the GST, they have to accept that the Congress is sitting in the Parliament. It (the Congress) has 20% of the votes and has a view," he said while accusing the BJP of shying away from debates in the Parliament.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had yesterday said that his government is hopeful of rolling out the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in 2016.

"The bill which is already introduced in the Parliament will be rolled out by the next year," he told the investors at the India-Singapore Economic Convention in Singapore.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had also said that a GST with a flawed foundation could do more damage than good.

"We are reaching out to people, who are suggesting changes. We are willing to have discussions with them, and they too need to reconsider some changes they are suggesting," he said in apparent reference to the opposition parties.