Cong keeps up suspense on GST Bill

Congress today remained non- committal on the issue of support to the GST bill amid talk of a special session of Parliament being convened for enacting the key reform measure.
"We have read it in newspapers only. Courtesy demands, democracy demands that opposition should be taken into confidence if government has any such plans. When it is officially announced, we will take a call," leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad told reporters.
He was replying to a volley of questions, at a joint press conference with Congress leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, on whether the Congress would support the GST which is expected to be brought by the government in a special session soon.

At the same time, Azad said that Congress is the "author and architect" of the GST bill and had been trying for seven-eight years to build consensus on the measure when the opposition was coming from BJP, especially its government in Gujarat.
Azad accused the Narendra Modi dispensation of arm-twisting the media as also trade and industry on the GST issue.
"When we were in power, we never made misuse of power to accuse BJP of attempting to scuttle growth by opposing GST. Now media and industry are being arm-twisted which is a fascist tendency," Azad said.

He wondered why the industry did not raise its voice when BJP was opposing the GST Bill during the UPA rule.

Hitting back at Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Kharge said the allegation that Congress opposed the GST bill is "baseless, malicious and complete falsehood".
Azad and Kharge said that it was the BJP which is responsible for the blockade of the GST bill by failing to take action in the wake of the acts of "omission and commission" of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje in Lalit Modi controversy and that of Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan in Vyapam scam.
Yesterday, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram had said Congress was not averse to cooperate on the GST bill provided government brought a "good" legislation and not the one "riddled with problems and issues".

"We want a good GST, certainly not this GST riddled with problems and issues.... There is growing support for the Congress' objections on GST, many corporates strongly support our objections," the former finance minister had told reporters.