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Bengal minister says he was muzzled in GST council meet, Centresays not true
Amit Mitra also claimed that the GST council forced its decision to continue taxing Covid-19 vaccines and items like masks, PPE kits and hand sanitizers among others.
West Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra claimed he was muzzled at the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meeting on Saturday, resulting in the council’s “anti-people decision” to continue taxing Covid-19 drugs, vaccines and disease containment equipment. While he said he was deliberately silenced by the Union finance minister in yet another blow to cooperative federalism, Nirmala Sitharaman’s deputy denied these allegations and said Mitra’s video conference connection was not stable, making him inaudible.
“I write this letter with great anguish. In your remarks near the end of today’s GST Council Meeting, you referred to several of my observations by name and yet I was not given the floor, despite repeated requests to you. Instead, you gave the floor to the minister from UP, who sought deletion of some of my comments by name and shockingly you agreed,” Mitra wrote in a letter to Nirmala Sitharaman.
The 44th meeting of the GST Council decided to cut taxes on several essential equipment and medicines including mucormycosis drug Amphotericin B and Tocilizumab-- from 5% to zero; Covid-19 drug Remdesivir and anticoagulant drug Heparin-12% to 5%. It also cut taxes on medical grade oxygen and testing kits. The tax levy on ambulances was also reduced to 12% for a little over three-and-a-half months to help individuals and governments fight Covid-19 and its fallout.
Alleging that his muzzling was “unprecedented” and a “major blow” to the spirit of cooperative federalism, Mitra, claimed that the GST council forced its decision to continue taxing Covid-19 vaccines and items like masks, PPE kits and hand sanitizers among others.
“GoI [government of India] led the anti-people move & IMPOSED GST on VACCINE, MASK, hand sanitizer, OXYGEN, PPE [kits], oximeters, Covid test kit, Remdesivir, RT PCR machine... Since my voice [was] IGNORED, I have recorded my DISSENT by letter. Unprecedented. Slow death of the only body of cooperative federalism,” Mitra tweeted.
Responding to Mitra, Union minister of state for finance Anurag Tahkur said the Bengal finance minister’s video conference line was not stable and that he was not properly audible.
“During the GST Council discussions today (June 12), it seemed as if the Finance Minister from West Bengal did not have a stable VC connection. Revenue Secretary repeatedly informed him his line was breaking, that he was not properly audible & to turn off his video for better connectivity,” Thakur tweeted.
He also claimed that at the end of the discussion, when Sitharaman asked whether anyone would like to speak, Mitra remained silent.
“Further, during the speech made by the Uttar Pradesh finance minister, nobody heard Dr Mitra ji speak up nor did he ask to have his opinion heard. Other members can attest to this,” Thakur added.
Thakur also said that the Union finance minister has never stifled dissent in the GST Council.
“It is unbecoming of a senior member of the Council to suggest that this has happened. The GST Council embodies the collective spirit of all states towards debate in a healthy manner; it has been & shall continue,” he tweeted.
