One GST, many names

Wednesday's discussion on the goods and services tax (GST) in the Rajya Sabha had members at their best - or their worst, depending on which side of the fence you are on - in coining new full forms of the abbreviation.

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, congratulating the government for its new-found conciliatory approach towards the Opposition parties, said GST also stood for "good sense triumphs". Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien pointed out that the government had reached out only to the Congress.

He said both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party have changed their positions vis-a-vis GST and had finally come together. For him, "GST", therefore, was short for "girgit samjhauta test" (a compromise among chameleons). O'Brien insisted that the use of "girgit" was unparliamentary only when used against a particular member. He added that for the Congress, GST had come to mean "go slow tactics".