'No Action Executed For Revenge': Nirmala Sitharaman On Chhattisgarh Raids

On a query over the Directorate of Enforcement's ongoing raids on Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said no action is executed with a sense of revenge.

At the post-Budget press conference in Jaipur, the Finance Minister said, "Any agency first collects data and only then action is taken. No action is executed with sense of revenge."

She also said that Congress should learn to listen while sitting in the Parliament.

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Monday conducted fresh searches at nearly a dozen locations in Chhattisgarh over mining and alleged coal levy scam. The places searched include residential and office premises of various Congress leaders, namely Ram Gopal Agarwal, Girish Devangan, RP Singh, Vinod Tiwari ad Sunny Agrawal, said sources.

The Finance minister also said if any party or state government wants to bring petrol and diesel under the purview of Goods and Services Tax (GST), then it would be discussed only once it is placed before the GST Council.

The Finance minister was addressing a query about bringing petrol and diesel under the ambit of GST and on the rising price of cooking gas at a press conference in Jaipur on Monday.

She said it does not depend on the government and only the GST Council can decide on this. The Finance Minister added that it can be brought within the ambit of GST only with the consent of all states.

The conference was also attended by the Union ministers of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary and Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad. Finance Secretary TV Somanathan and Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran were also present at the conference.

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