No holds barred as Oppn. takes on govt. over GST

NCP’s Jayant Patil speaks for over three hours, raises concerns over GST being a precursor for an ‘authoritarian’ govt. in the future

May 21, 2017 11:42 pm | Updated 11:42 pm IST

Silent protest: Vijay Jadhav, a 36-year-old farmer from Kolhapur, sits with the the mortal remains of over 25 farmers who committed suicide in his district due to a poor crop, at Azad Maidan in Mumbai on Sunday.

Silent protest: Vijay Jadhav, a 36-year-old farmer from Kolhapur, sits with the the mortal remains of over 25 farmers who committed suicide in his district due to a poor crop, at Azad Maidan in Mumbai on Sunday.

Mumbai: From allusions to the blockbuster Bahubali movies to allegations of financial indiscipline and authoritarianism, the Opposition on Sunday sought to pin down the BJP-led State government during the three-day special session of the Legislative Assembly to discuss implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the State.

Leading from the front was senior NCP leader Jayant Patil, who sought to remind the government and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in particular that the ‘one nation, one tax’ slogan should turn into ‘one State, one leader’. “The CM is touring the State to inspect works under Jalyukta Shivar, but what about decentralisation of power? What are his ministers doing? Isn’t it the responsibility of the minister of the concerned department? Why is it that the CM is doing everything and not letting his ministers work?” Mr. Patil said.

In a speech lasting three hours and 16 minutes, the former Finance Minister alleged that employment generation in the State is at an all-time low but money is being spent on advertisements to push propaganda. He also claimed that cost estimates of major projects are increasing and the government is clueless when it comes to paying for these projects. “Mr. Mungantiwar should be known as Expenditure Minister, since GST will not even allow him to enforce new taxes.”

Taking a dig at senior BJP minister Eknath Khadse’s ouster from the State Cabinet, Mr. Patil said the reason behind his removal is like the one behind why Katappa killed Bahubali in the movie named after the latter. “In this case, if Bahubali decides to speak, it will cause a political earthquake,” he said.

Bringing up the issue of rising farmer suicides, Leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil said, “While we know the importance of GST, it was necessary to organise a special session to discuss farm loan waivers, from which the government is running away. the Uttar Pradesh government announced loan waivers within two weeks of coming to power, but even after one-and-a-half months, this government has not completed its study of the UP model.” He also demanded a special committee be set up comprising the Chief Minister, Finance Minister, LoPs, group leaders of all parties and party representatives to supervise the implementation of GST.

Finance Minister Sudhir Munguntiwar will table his reply on Monday before the GST Bill is voted upon by the MLAs. Once cleared by the Lower House, it will be presented in the Legislative Council for approval.

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