Nitish Kumar, who has been advocating Opposition unity but has broken ranks with other Opposition parties over Presidential election and GST, was seen as "playing safe" by many
Bihar's ruling Mahagathbandhan constituents - Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Janata Dal-United (JD-U) were once again seen on different pages over launching of Goods and Services Tax (GST) with the former boycotting the midnight parliamentary event while the latter attended it.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, also the national president of JD-U, did not attend the new tax regime rollout session personally, but sent a small delegation led by Bihar Commercial Taxes Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav as his representatives. His party MPs were also asked to register their attendance, though no whip was issued.
Kumar, who has been advocating Opposition unity but has broken ranks with other Opposition parties over Presidential election and GST, was seen as "playing safe" by many.
"By not going himself, Kumar expressed solidarity with senior Opposition leaders like Sonia Gandhi, Lalu Yadav and Mamata Banerjee, who kept away from the event. In sending his cabinet colleague, Kumar, who has been a vocal supporter of GST, did not need to compromise on his ideology," a senior JD-U leader said.
Kumar has repeatedly asked all parties to support GST as "the tax reform were set to benefit all states, including Bihar, a consumer state." Bihar was the second state to ratify GST and endorse state GST in August last year.
Though JD-U's ally Yadav, had supported the passage of GST Bill in Bihar, his party distanced itself from special meet. A senior RJD leader said the party stayed away from the function as it was in favour of the tax reforms as proposed originally and not with the amends that had been incorporated by the NDA government at the Centre.
The difference of opinion over GST, comes at a time when both parties were tiding over the damage done by the recent war of words after Kumar extended his support to NDA's Presidential pick Ram Nath Kovind. While the RJD had accused Kumar of being a "cheat and opportunist" for not supporting Bihar Ki beti Meira Kumar for the country's top post, the Bihar CM had hit back saying she had been fielded by the Opposition only to lose.
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