Congress chief ministers Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel on Tuesday accused the Centre of attempting to keep the main opposition party away from a ministerial panel to examine the issue of GST exemption for Covid-19 relief material.
The Group of Ministers was constituted after a meeting of the GST Council last week and has Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma as the convenor. Ministers of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Kerala, Odisha, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh are members of the GoM.
“A deliberate attempt has been made to keep the principal Opposition party, the Congress, that has three members in the GST Council, out of the GoM,” Rajasthan Chief Minister Gehlot said.
He said the ministers of West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu had taken a stand contrary to the agenda of the GST Council and none of them have been included in the GoM.
Baghel, the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister, said the exclusion of ministers from Congress-ruled states was against the spirit of cooperative federalism.
He said that ministers of Congress-ruled states, who are part of the GST Council, should have been included in the GoM formed to discuss the issue of exempting or slashing GST on Covid-19 essentials like vaccines, drugs, PPE kits and oxygen-related equipment.
Gehlot urged the GoM members to reflect on the exclusion of the Congress ministers and take into account their demand for Zero Tax Rate for Covid related supplies in public interest.
Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal has vocal about demanding a greater say for the opposition-ruled states in the GST Council and insisting on appointing a Vice Chairman to the Council from amongst them.
West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra, who also does not find a place in the GoM, had convened a virtual meeting of opposition ruled states to prepare a joint strategy for the May 28 meeting of the GST Council.
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