BJP Says Negative Mindset Of Congress Stalling Goods And Services Tax Bill

New Delhi: Launching a counter offensive on Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill, BJP today alleged Congress was "never serious" about it and the opposition party's "negative mindset" was delaying the key tax reforms legislation.

Dubbing Mr Gandhi as a "non-serious, part-time politician", BJP attacked him for his remark that his party would back the GST provided its three conditions were met and said he should clearly state whether Congress was in favour of or against it, instead of "diverting" the issue.

"Instead of playing anti-development, anti-poor politics, Rahul Gandhi should tell the country upfront whether his party supports the GST Bill or not. The Congress should stop beating around the bush on the issue and come out clean on whether or not it backs the GST Bill, crucial for the country's development," BJP's national secretary and media cell incharge Shrikant Sharma said.

Accusing the Congress leadership of "deliberately disrupting" Parliament to stall GST, he said, Congress was "never serious" about the Bill and the draft bill prepared by UPA was opposed by several Congress-ruled states, while the draft GST Bill prepared by BJP was "mostly acceptable to most states".

"Yet the Congress high command, for its petty political motives, disrupted Parliament to stall the GST. When the court did not exempt them from personal appearance in the National Herald case, Congress leaders held Parliament hostage and hampered the GST Bill," he said.

Taking on Mr Gandhi for his criticism of the government for allegedly mishandling the Pathankot terror attack, he said, "a non-serious and part-time politician like Rahul Gandhi should introspect before speaking on serious national security matters".

"Rahul Gandhi was holidaying in Europe when Pathankot base was attacked. Making non-serious statements bereft of facts on serious subjects is not good. A non-serious and part-time politician like Rahul Gandhi should make mature statements on sensitive issues. He should introspect before he speaks," he said, accusing Mr Gandhi of resorting to misleading rhetoric to divert the attention of the people from "his bail in the Rs 5,000 crore National Herald case".

Sharma cited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh, and later meeting of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley with other Congress leaders as BJP's attempts to forge a consensus on the GST Bill and not for anything else.

He lamented that the bill could not be passed due to the "arrogance" and "whims" of Congress' top leadership.

"The Bill could not be passed in the Winter Session of Parliament because Congress was never interested in passing it and it only wanted to oppose the Government," he said.

The BJP also questioned Congress' moral right in talking about terrorism, accusing it of supporting those indulging in terror activities and addressing them as "sahib" in the past as also for revoking POTA during its rule.

"A party whose leaders shed tears on the bodies of terrorists, address terrorists with respect, repeal POTA soon as they come to power and raise questions about the martyrdom of police officers in Batla House encounter have no moral right to speak on terrorism," said the BJP leader reacting to Rahul's statements on the operation at Pathankot airbase.

Mr Gandhi, in Mumbai, today said the GST bill could be passed in Parliament in just "15 minutes" with the support of Congress once the Modi government accepts the conditions set by his party.

The Congress vice president also attacked the Centre's ambitious start-up mission, saying there is a contradiction in pushing for start-ups and being "intolerant".

He said the RSS has a very "rigid vision" for India and that startups require free movement of ideas, during an interaction with management students there.

A "compromise with the government is possible on GST and it is by sitting across the table, but the government is not willing to do so," he said, adding that "the day the conditions are accepted, we will pass the GST (in Parliament). It will take just 15 minutes."