Hope changing arithmetic will allow passing of GST: Modi

Declaring the stalling of the proposed Goods and Services Tax Bill as a loss for poor people, mostly from India's north and eastern regions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the changing party arithmetic in parliament gave hope for enacting the law.

"There is just one group which has made it the issue of prestige," Modi said, referring to the Congress' opposition to the GST Bill, in an interview with Times Now news channel.

"Now the kind of arithmetic which is working out, I hope that this decision is passed in favour of the poor.

"GST is beneficial for the poor people of the states represented by them, because those states will economically benefit the most from GST.

"Not having GST straightaway means loss for the poor of Uttar Pradesh, of Bihar. Not passing the GST would mean loss for the poor people of poor states like Bengal, Orissa and Assam," he added.

The pan-India GST for a through overhaul of the country's indirect tax regime has been passed by the Lok Sabha, but has been stalled in the Rajya Sabha where the ruling NDA lacks a majority.

However, following a meeting of Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on GST in Kolkata earlier this month, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced that every state had either supported or accepted the proposed GST, except Tamil Nadu, which expressed its reservations and offered suggestions.

The model GST law approved at the state finance ministers' meeting has thereafter been published, inviting comments from stakeholders.

--IANS

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