New Delhi: Congress leader Anand Sharma today said that his party is ready to support the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill but the government is not ready with the legislation.
Speaking at the 88th Annual General Meeting of FICCI here, Sharma said that after the passage of the GST Bill, the government will have to pass 3 more legislations to make GST a reality.
"GST Bill is not ready. They are not ready with the Bill. Where is the draft of the 3 Bills that would need to be passed even if the present bill is passed by the Parliament?" he said.
Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sharma said that everybody knows when Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, he had opposed the GST.
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"Did you punish Modi for opposing GST for so long when he was Gujarat CM?" he asked.
Questioning the policies of the present government, he said, "There are question marks now on government policies. Is Indian economy dependent on one legislation? Can Modi and Jaitley promise 11% growth if we have GST in place? Despite new GDP calculation methodology, there is no actual change in growth rate."
"Mere rebranding and repackaging of old schemes are not enough. Fall in petroleum prices have not been passed on to consumers," he further said.
He also made it clear that the party will not compromise on its 3 demands including dropping the proposed 1 per cent additional levy to compensate manufacturing states.
Stating that the Prime Minister must walk the talk, Sharma said, "Arrogance has no place. Once elections are over, they should have focused on governance instead of ridiculing and humiliating us. We could have given our piece of experience and wisdom. We are committed to the growth of the country."
The government and the opposition, particularly Congress, are engaged in a cat and mouse game over GST Bill for quite some time.
The GST aims to simplify the current indirect tax regime by bringing all central and state levies under one single head having uniform tax rate across goods and services.
