Cong to raise 'insult' of its CMs by BJP government

Kerala CM was reportedly asked to stay away from Modi's function in the state

With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government making overtures to the Congress to iron out the differences over the goods and services tax (GST) Bill, key leaders of the opposition party met on Sunday evening at pary president Sonia Gandhi's residence. Finance minister Arun Jaitley is slated to meet Congress leaders on Monday to apprise them of the government's response to the party's demands on changes in the Constitution amendment Bill.

The Congress is also taking steps to show its differences with the BJP-led government at the Centre over GST is not an extension of its legal fight with BJP leader Subramanium Swamy in the National Herald case. Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi are expected to appear before the trial court on December 19.

Speaking to Business Standard , Congress leader Anand Sharma said, "It's a mischievous campaign by the BJP to link the two, the National Herald case and the GST. We have been demanding action against corrupt BJP chief ministers and hence our protests in Parliament. We reject any wrong perceptions being created by the BJP."

Leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and deputy leader Sharma had an hour-long deliberation with the top leadership of the party. The GST Bill is pending for clearance in the Upper House.

Meanwhile, the finance minister has been having general talks over the GST with the senior Congress Rajya Sabha leaders. After the Arvind Subramanian committee report on the GST, the FM will be getting back to the Congress on the issue. According to Congress insiders, the party's strategy is to make a neat demarcation between its stance on the GST and its accusations against the government on "political vendetta". Rahul Gandhi has been repeatedly using every forum to reiterate the Congress' three demands on the GST - the need for a dispute redressal mechanism; a cap on the GST rate which should be stipulated in the Constitution amendment Bill; and doing away with the one per cent additional tax. If the government doesn't accede to the three demands, then the Congress will not help in getting the Bill passed, said a Congress source.

In the coming days, the party is likely to raise the issue of 'political vendetta' and 'insult' to Congress chief ministers. The latest incident being cited is, Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy was asked not to attend a function on December 15 at Kollam, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi would unveil former chief minister R Sankar's statue. While there appears to be a forward movement on the GST, insiders say top leaders in the party have dug in their heels regarding the three demands. The passage of the Bill in this session would be depend on how the government addresses those concerns. The party is being vigilant to not let the BJP blame it for blocking the GST.