New Delhi: Hitting out at the government for its rollout of the Goods and Service Tax (GST) at a grand function in Parliament’s Central Hall at midnight, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said the reform was still half-baked way and the event was only self-promotional.
In a series of tweets with hashtag GSTTamasha, Mr Gandhi said, 'A reform that holds great potential is being rushed through in a half-baked way with a self-promotional spectacle #GSTTamasha.' Mr Gandhi also said, 'India deserves a #GST rollout that does not put crores of its ordinary citizens, small businesses & traders through tremendous pain & anxiety.'
He said like demonetisation, the GST was being executed without planning and institutional readiness by an insensitive government. 'But like demonetisation, GST is being executed by an incompetent and insensitive Government without planning, foresight and institutional readiness,' Mr Gandhi said.
'Unlike demonetisation, GST is a reform that @INCIndia has championed & backed from the beginning,' he tweeted. The Congress yesterday announced that it would not participate in the GST launch function, dubbing it as a 'publicity stunt.' The party said that convening such a function by the NDA government to mark the rollout of GST under present circumstances was uncalled for, particularly as the country was grappling with farmers' suicides, incidents of mob lynching and a climate of intolerance. Besides the Congress, other parties that have decided to boycott the GST function are AITC, Left and RJD. (UNI)