Concerns raised on GST principled, bona fide: Congress

Congress today sought to dismiss government's suggestion to reconsider some of its view on GST contending that the concerns raised by the party are "not partisan grandstanding" like that of BJP.
"Concerns raised by the Congress, unlike the BJP, are not partisan grandstanding but are principled and bona fide.
"I would like to advice government, Prime Minister and Finance Minister to engage with the Opposition with respect and humility and shed its mindset of arrogance and confrontation," senior party spokesperson Anand Sharma said.
He was reacting to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's statement in the evening asking Congress to reconsider its suggestions on GST saying that a "flawed architecture" can "damage" the system much more than it can benefit.

Sharma said Parliament session cannot be reduced to only discussing one bill.
He said the bill is being used by the government to "hide its pathetic performance on all fronts and its bad management of economy despite favourable international conditions".

Noting that the issues flagged by the Congress and the dissent notes given in the Parliamentary Committee, he told the government, "Parliament is not supposed to rubber stamp the flawed constitutional amendments".
Taking a dig at the Modi government, Sharma said it is a "new convert which is preaching forgetting the fact that the country was denied this progressive tax reform for full five years because of Opposition by BJP for furthering its partisan political agenda under the leadership of then Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi".

Jaitley, who needs the Parliament approval for the Goods & Services Tax (GST) Bill in the Winter Session beginning Thursday to roll out the new indirect tax regime from April 1, said he is willing to discuss with Congress as some of its suggestions were not in the larger interest of the GST structure.
He said those stalling reforms should realise that place for obsolete thinking is now shrinking and those who support reforms is much bigger than those who obstruct.