The Samajwadi Party did not open its cards on the issue of supporting the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in Parliament tomorrow.
"Whether we will attend the midnight GST launch tomorrow will be known tomorrow only. We will take a decision in this regard tomorrow," SP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Agarwal told PTI.
Agarwal went to say that the SP was opposed to the GST, and would not support it.
"GST is a black law and it will be similar to re- establishment of the East India Company in the country," he said.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today asked opposition parties such as the Congress and the Left to reconsider their decision to skip the midnight GST launch tomorrow, saying they were all consulted on the indirect tax reform and cannot run away from it.
"I hope every political party will reconsider and revisit its decision on not participating in the launch event to be organised in the Central Hall of Parliament," he said.
The government, he said, remains committed to the GST as any other reform.
"It is the single most important taxation reform in 70 years," he said.
All decision on GST, including rules and tax rates, were taken in consultation with states and political parties must display broad shoulder and own up their responsibility, he said.
The Congress today decided to keep away from the special midnight June 30 meeting convened by the government on GST implementation.
Trinamool Congress has already announced its decision to boycott the event.
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury has already questioned the government on "hurrying" into introducing GST and recalled that the ruling BJP had opposed the system when it was in the opposition.
The GST, being billed as the biggest tax reform since Independence, will subsume all indirect state and central levies, making India a single market.
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