On the eve of the amendment bill for GST coming up in the Rajya Sabha, a credit-seeking game started with the Congress claiming that they were the original authors of the proposed legislation to bring uniform tax regime in the country.
The BJP is sticking to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s line that the Opposition can take “full credit”, but ensure the passage of the important economic reform bill.
At a strategy meeting of the Congress, members wanted party leaders to set the record straight that they were the real authors of the GST Bill.
They also wanted leaders putting across the Congress view in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday to dispel the BJP “propaganda” that the Opposition party was obstructing the economic reform measure.
“We are the original authors. If the nation gets GST, the Congress would have made a notable contribution,” Anand Sharma, deputy leader of the Congress in Rajya Sabha, told reporters here.
At the party meeting, a section of Rajya Sabha members also wanted party leaders to speak in Hindi during the debate on GST and send across a clear message that the Congress’ insistence on three amendments was to protect consumer interest and not for politicking. As the Congress made efforts to claim authorship of the GST Bill, a senior BJP leader pointed out that it was the then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who had conceived the idea of GST and set up a committee in 2000.
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