*Matter not discussed in Cabinet: BJP
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Sept 23: The Centre Government has taken serious note of Jammu and Kashmir Government’s decision to lay conditions for implementation of GST in the State in the GST Council meeting called today by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in New Delhi notwithstanding that PDP was running the coalition Government with the help of BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given Rs 80,000 crores worth Prime Minister’s Development Package (PMDP) to the State.
The Central leadership of the BJP has openly voiced its resentment against J&K Government Finance Minister Dr Haseeb Drabu’s opposition to implement the bill in present form by laying condition and linking GST with “Constitutional issue of Jammu and Kashmir” at a time when even the BJP’s strongest political adversaries like Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had convened special Assembly session to implement the GST bill.
Drabu’s statement to a national English news channel after the GST meeting describing J&K as Constitutional issue and seeking comprehensive mechanism or setting up of sub groups to address issues of the State has not gone well with the Centre, which was of the view that the GST has been hailed world over as one of the major reformist ever bill in the country, which would promote trade and invite large scale investment.
Drabu told the channel: “Jammu and Kashmir is a much larger issue, which is a Constitutional issue, which hasn’t been settled yet”.
Sources said Drabu’s bid to link GST with Constitutional issue of Jammu and Kashmir hasn’t gone well with the Centre including the Finance Minister, who was of the view that there must be uniform tax rate across the country for the benefit of common man, businessmen, industrialists and all other concerned as it would also give equal opportunities to the States to develop.
Asserting that the issue of GST was not Centre versus State (J&K), Drabu said some mechanism has to be found out to address issues of the State by forming smaller sub groups and finding out more options.
“It’s far too simplistic. There could be complications. Ways and means have to be found out. There is need to re-visit the formula,” he told the channel.
Immediately reacting to the statement of Drabu, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Dr Jitendra Singh said GST bill is aimed at creating “One India, One Tax Concept’, which would benefit entire country, all States, its people, the traders, businessmen etc.
“Not only the entire country, but entire world has welcomed the GST bill brought by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley as one of the major reforms the country has ever seen,” he said, adding it should be immediately implemented by all States including Jammu and Kashmir.
Describing GST as the game-changer, which would take India’s economy on top, Dr Singh said if there is no single tax in Jammu and Kashmir, like other parts of the country, the industrialists would stop crossing Lakhanpur and settle beyond Pathankot, which would deprive Jammu and Kashmir of developmental and employment opportunities.
When approached for comments, a BJP Minister in Jammu and Kashmir Government, told the Excelsior on the condition of anonymity, that the issue of opposition to GST was never brought before the State Cabinet by the Finance Minister.
He said the Finance Minister appeared to have opposed the GST on his own, which would be taken up by the State Government.
Political observers too questioned the statement of Drabu linking the GST with Constitution saying he was a Minister in the State having taken oath of the same Constitution. Moreover, they said, the Food Security Bill was adopted by the State Government by a Cabinet decision even without taking the Legislature approval. They questioned that if there was no Constitutional bar in adopting Food Security bill, how the Constitutional problems can crop up in implementation of the GST bill.
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