Manmohan corners Centre over GST, says Congress would have done it better

Former PM claimed his party would have implemented the new tax regime after due care and adequate preparation

Taking a dig at the BJP led NDA government at the Centre, former prime minister Manmohan Singh has said that the Congress would have implemented the Goods and Services Tax (GST) after considerable preparation.

Addressing a gathering in Kochi on Friday, Singh said, "GST is an idea, which had the blessings of the Congress party, but we would have implemented it after due care and adequate preparation."

Earlier also, the former prime minister had trained guns at the Centre terming GST as another "blunder of the Modi government and broken the back of small businesses."

The Congress has been critical of the uniform tax regime ever since it was introduced.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi had also said that the GST needs structural changes.

Addressing a rally in Gujarat, Rahul said, "GST is one tax reform, not five tax. The Centre does not know the meaning of GST. They made the GST complex. India doesn't want five different types of taxes. There's a need to make structural changes in the GST."

In the recent past, Rahul has been terming GST as Gabbar Singh Tax.

Amid the Opposition's outcry, the Centre recently announced moving 178 items from the 28 percent to the 18 percent tax bracket under the GST, applicable from November 15.

The changes in the tax system were decided at the 23rd GST Council meeting headed by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, at Guwahati on November 10.