BJP’s GST issue mere ‘hypocrisy’: Congress

The BJP functionary said this is not the first instance of Congress disrupting Parliament. “Congress was victorious in the (local) elections there”, Gandhi said addressing a meeting of block and district level party leaders here, in the run-up to the 2016 Assam Assembly election.

Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday accused the Congress of holding democracy to ransom over the case, saying that the government has no role in the issue and will wait for the court verdict before taking any action.

He termed comments of BJP chief ministers of Maharashtra and Haryana that they would favour cancellation of National Herald properties leased to its holding companies as “political vendetta”. “If I can take the Finance Minister back to the statement of former Prime Minister of India in 2011 February”, he was asked as to why the GST is not going through. And what has stopping of Parliament got to do with the case of National Herald.

During his interaction with the editors and senior journalists here in the presence of Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, Rahul Gandhi off the record discussed with them the prevailing political scenario of the country, Assam and the North East region, the issue of illegal immigration from Bangladesh and India’s foreign policy. ED has not issued any notice. “Tax authorities have not passed any assessment order”, Jaitley said. The BJP leader said after summons were issued by a lower court against Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, they moved the High Court that rejected their pleas. After hearing, the High Court dismisses it. Now you either go to trial court or you challenge it in Supreme Court.

He said that NDA government came out Swach Bharat which continued for 10 to 15 days. “Your Finance Minister in his blogs and on Facebook says this is an offence under Income Tax Act”. He said the Congress is committed to reviving and running National Herald, a newspaper established in 1938 by Jawaharlal Nehru.

Rahul said that he will finish Modi.

He also added that Markandey Katju had not applied to become a shareholder. “It is not only goods and services tax bill but many pro-poor steps are stuck in Parliament”.

Speaking at the Aaj Tak Agenda programme, Jaitley said the Congress was changing stance everyday as it believes none other than persons from one family have the right to rule the country.