Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said his party would clear the Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill in 15 minutes if the Central government accepted three conditions put up by them.
“There should be a cap of 18% on GST rate, constitution of a fair disputes resolution mechanism, and removal of the proposed 1% interstate tax from the bill. These are not big conditions. It is not wrong of us to say we don’t want unlimited taxes on people,” said Gandhi while interacting with students of Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies in Mumbai. “The day these conditions are accepted, we will pass the GST in 15 minutes,” he said.
As the BJP has attacked the Congress for stalling the bill, Gandhi insisted his party was not to be blamed for the situation. “Congress brought the GST to the table. (Then PM) Manmohan Singh and his team designed it. The BJP stopped it for seven years and didn’t allow it to pass. Manmohan Singh had umpteen conversations with then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi but he continued to oppose it,” Gandhi said.