Thought and afterthought

The verbal fisticuffs between the ruling coalition and the Opposition over the goods and services tax (GST) continue unabated. As the Opposition Congress dug its heels in over the Constitution amendment Bill for GST, an exasperated Arun Jaitley, the finance minister, dismissed its concerns, saying this was merely an "afterthought". Not one to give up easily, former Union minister and Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh said, "After single-handedly sabotaging the GST for three years, (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi's support for it is also an 'afterthought'," adding for good measure, that "politics is all about thoughts and afterthoughts".