Congress taking undue credit for lowered GST rates: BJP

The BJP on Friday slammed Congress leader P. Chidambaram for claiming credit for the GST Council slamming tax rates, saying that the Congress was trying to take undue credit for the lowered GST rates which it said had been "worked out at the highest levels in the government".

"P. Chidambaram's series of tweets over GST dubiously claiming credit for lowering of rates for several goods in the highest tax bracket betray a sense of anxiety on the part of the Congress party that the modified GST norms are enhancing PM Narendra Modi's appeal among voters," BJP spokesperson G.V.L. Narasimha Rao said.

"The decision of lowering the GST rates have been worked out at the highest levels in the government at the instance of the Prime Minister who is monitoring GST's rollout continuously. The Congress party's finance ministers had no specific role in decisions made, as Chidambaram has fraudulently claimed today," he added.

Rao accused the Congress of "shamelessly" trying to take credit for the GST Council decisions of lowering the rates for many goods.

He said the step of lowering of GST on all types of restaurants to 5 per cent is a "huge relief compared to even the pre-GST era" and will "warm millions of hearts in urban India" and would expand the "fan base of the Prime Minister".

On Friday, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council slashed the tax rates on 177 goods.

Earlier in the day, Chidambaram had said that Congress finance ministers would "force changes" in the GST rates in the meeting.

"Government avoided debate and voting in Rajya Sabha on GST Bills. Now, they cannot avoid a debate in public domain or in the GST Council," Chidambaram tweeted.

"Thanks to Gujarat elections, government forced to heed advice of opposition and experts on flaws in implementation of GST," Chidambaram added.

--IANS

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