GST stalemate is unfortunate for the country: Amit Shah

By Madhuparna Das

KOLKATA: Terming the stalemate over GST in Parliament as 'purely political', BJP national president Amit Shah said that it was 'unfortunate' for the country. Shah spoke in an interactive session on ‘Economic Agenda for the development of eastern region’, organized by the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Kolkata today.

"The GST bill was brought by the Congress and we supported it. But, there were certain issues which needed to be addressed. After resolving those issues, we again tabled the GST in parliament. So, it was expected that the same Bill would have unanimous support of the house. But it hasn't. Congress is now blocking the bill for pure political interest. The BJP government can only appeal to the opposition to respect the people's mandate and allow the constitutional amendment for introduction of the GST to be passed," said Shah.

Adding that the BJP government would not be perturbed with such 'obstruction' in Parliament, he added. "Such obstruction in a multi-party democracy is not unexpected but it does create obstacles to growth and development. But the government will not dither and it would deliver," said Shah replying to a question by a member of the ICC who asked about government's response to the continued opposition faced by the NDA on the GST and Land amendment Bill. Shah however reassured that the political blockade in Parliament would not impede the government's initiative.

Reminding about the huge mandate the government has got, he asserted, "One should know the strength of 1.25-crore population’s market. So, the target of a 10% growth by the end of the five years of the BJP government will be achieved at any cost."

He further added: "There will be no ifs and buts in achieving this target. Already in 15 months of the BJP government at the centre, it has achieved a growth rate of 5.7% up from the average of 4.4% of the UPA – II regime."