Reach out to the opposition, says Rahul

Says the govt should address three key issues raised by Congress

As the Modi government went into top gear on the goods and services tax (GST) Bill on the eve of the Parliament session, Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said the Congress strongly supports the legislation, but it should reach out to the Opposition and address three key issues raised by the party.

Spelling out the Congress' stand on key Bills, including GST, during an interaction with girl students at a prestigious college in Bengaluru, Gandhi also made a stinging attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, charging that the government was "much worse" than a "suit-boot-ki-sarkar" with the economy in the doldrums. "Do we want the GST? Are we ready to compromise on GST? Are we ready to talk on GST? Absolutely. Are we going to accept just being thrown aside, no. So we are not trying to stall Parliament. We want the GST that suits the country and benefits the country and we are ready to have that conversation without a problem," Gandhi said. The winter session of Parliament is scheduled to start on Thursday.

In his 45-minute interaction with Mount Carmel College students, the Congress leader also touched upon the issue of "rising intolerance," reignited after Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan's controversial remarks, and said it "disturbs" him as an Indian. "Live and let live" was the country's biggest strength, he emphasised. On GST, Gandhi said there were three differences between BJP and Congress, which related to cap on tax to be charged, dispute resolution and one per cent tax on inter-state sales (doing away with it).

"If the government wants to pass the GST, the government has to accept the fact that the Congress party sits in Parliament with 20 per cent of the national vote. That the Congress has a view," he said, adding that the fight was for a GST that suits and benefits the country.