Govt doesn't comment on views of ex-RBI chiefs on demo, GST expressed before media: FM

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told the Lok Sabha that the government does not comment on the views of former RBI governors on demonetisation and the GST expressed before the media, Parliament was informed Friday.

He was replying to a question in this regard by Congress parliamentarians Jyotiraditya Scindia and Kamal Nath.

"The government does not comment on the views and opinions of former RBI governors and economists on demonetisation and GST expressed before media/private agency etc," Jaitley said in a written reply to the House.

The government, the reply said, has from time to time stated advantages to the Indian economy which accrued due to the note ban and Goods and Services Tax (GST).

The two senior Congress leaders had asked whether a former Governor of Reserve Bank of India and several renowned economists have recently stated that ban on high value currency notes in 2016 and rollout of GST in July 2017 have caused 'really hard blows' to the economy.

Jaitley further said after the structural reform of GST had been introduced in a record time, the economic growth bounced back vigorously.

Robust growth rate of 18 per cent for 2017-18 in net direct tax collections, the highest in last seven financial years, is "indicative of the positive impact" of demonetisation on the level of tax compliance in the country.