Centre rushed GST: Congress

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's midnight tryst with India's biggest tax reform was boycotted by a large chunk of the Opposition, led by the Congress, with party vice-president Rahul Gandhi dubbing the implementation of the GST as a gimmick which was being rushed through in a “half-baked” manner and in a “selfpromotional spectacle”.

Apart from the Congress, the Trinamul, RJD, BSP, the Left parties and the DMK boycotted the event even as the Nationalist Congress Party and the Samajwadi Party decided to attend it in deference to President Pranab Mukherjee.

The JD(U) sent Bihar commercial taxes and energy minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav, but its top leaders, including Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and the party’s Rajya Sabha member Sharad Yadav, gave the event a miss. Mr Gandhi, who is abroad, took to twitter to say that a reform which holds great potential was being rushed through without planning, foresight and institutional readiness, like during demonetisation last year.

“Unlike demonetisation, GST is a reform that @INCIndia has championed & backed from the beginning...But like demonetisation, GST is being executed by an incompetent & insensitive Govt w/o planning foresight &institutional readiness #GSTTamasha (sic),” Mr Gandhi tweeted.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said that the government had imposed “highest ever GST rate in the world” while the UPA had proposed putting a cap of 18 per cent on tax.