Miffed Mamata now targets GST invite

With barely two days to go for the rollout of the Goods and Service Tax (GST), West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday voiced her dissent over its implementation, calling it an 'epic blunder of the Centre'.
"We are deeply concerned about GST implementation. After #demonetisation, this unnecessary disastrous hurry is another epic blunder of the Centre', she wrote on her Facebook.

Soon after, a Congress leader said that the party was also contemplating boycotting the GST launch but that it would only take a decision on Thursday after consulting allies. The CPI(M) also maintained that the dominant view among the Opposition parties was to not participate in Friday night's special session of Parliament.

The Opposition party reacted angrily as soon as the MPs received the invitation cards from Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar for "the launch of GST by the Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi in the august presence of the President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee." They called it an insult to President Pranab Mukherjee at his end.

An impression was given by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley that there will be a special joint session of Parliament, but what has turned out is another event by the event managers of Modi, the Congress leaders said.

The launch should have been at the hands of the President and not by the Prime Minister as this is an insult to the President to invite him to the event and not request him to launch the new tax system, the Opposition leaders said.

"All sections of people are agitated. You cannot turn it into an entertainment even when people are suffering," a CPI(M) leader said. Since it is not a Parliament session or a sitting, the parties need not issue a whip to its MPs to boycott the GST show, he added.

On the other hand, Mamata's post also said that the state had supported the GST from the beginning but was worried about the way it was being implemented. She maintained that their suggestion to the Centre to take some more time for a proper implementation of GST had fallen on deaf ears.

"The entire business community, especially the small and medium ones, are scared and confused. Only 60 hours are left before this ill planned launch and no one knows for sure what's happening!" the post read.

She alleged that the Centre had initially strongly opposed GST for over seven years and then suddenly somersaulted after coming to office as a champion of GST.

Mamata cited several examples of the unpreparedness of the country for an immediate GST rollout. "The 3 days strike declared by the Textile Industries of India provides evidence to our deep concerns on the lack of preparedness. Small business entities are not yet ready with the basic requirements like invoice, accounting system, IT system, etc. Another piece of evidence of unpreparedness comes from the fact that the 'Return Form' had to be simplified for the first 6 months as all systems are not in place. It is shocking that the e-Waybill System is not yet designed and states are being asked to run their own systems as a stopgap arrangement," she said and added that at least another six months were required to notify all stakeholders and streamline the process.

In the last paragraph of her post, Mamata cleared that she will not partake in the GST celebration at midnight on June 30. "Our parliamentary party has decided not to attend the 30th June, 2017 midnight programme at the Parliament House to celebrate GST, as a mark of protest (sic)," she wrote.

State Finance Minister Dr Amit Mitra, who is also the Chairman of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers, said at a press conference on Wednesday that even if the state had to voice its concern alone, it will still do so. "This is scary. Small and medium business houses which employ 80 per cent of the workforce will be badly hit. The GST must be rolled out with full preparation. At the moment, it looks like it is heading for an impending catastrophe," he said.

He added that even in states like Gujarat, around 5,000 business units were looking at a closure. "This will create a disastrous situation. The textile industry is going on a strike, which proves that the issues which we have raised have merit," he added.