Your fight on GST will not go in vain: Stalin to 10 CMs

DMK President MK Stalin on Thursday appreciated chief ministers of nine states and the Union Territory of Puducherry ruled by the Congress and other Opposition parties for opposing the borrowing options proposed by the Centre at the GST Council meeting, saying their fight will not go in vain.

In letters written to chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Puducherry, Kerala, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Jharkhand, and West Bengal, Stalin thanked them for declining to accept both the borrowing options proposed by the Union government at the GST Council meeting on the 5th of October.

“Your efforts in standing united to uphold Federalism are greatly appreciated. When the Union has a moral and legal obligation to pay the states, proposing we should borrow to substitute for their non-payment is a travesty of both states’ rights and justice,” he wrote.

He also accused the Tamil Nadu government of betraying its people by opting for one of the options given by the Centre.

Quoting the CAG Report for 2018-2019 that showed that the Centre has “illegitimately transferred funds” of Rs 47,272 crores from the GST Compensation account to the Consolidated Fund of India during the 2017-18 and 2018-19 periods alone, Stalin said the possibility of such illegitimate transfers for the past fiscal year (2019-2020) remains.

“In light of these facts, I urge you to hold the Union government to its duty and its commitment to the CAG, reimburse this amount immediately, and initiate states’ compensation payments from this deposit,” he said in the letter.

The additional funds required to honour the Unions legal obligations for the year can be borrowed directly into the Compensation Account from the market or the RBI, with the Union government serving as guarantor for its eventual repayment, Stalin said.

“On behalf of the people of Tamil Nadu, I truly appreciate your efforts so far and urge you to stand firm even as our own Tamil Nadu government continues to betray its people. Your solidarity with the other states in fighting for the rights of all states in India, will not go in vain,” he added.