Urge for course correction in matter of functioning of GST Council, says Amit Mitra
kolkata: Raising allegation of "a steady breakdown of the spirit of cooperative federalism and erosion of commitment to work out a consensus" in the GST Council meetings, Finance minister Amit Mitra on Wednesday urged the Union Finance minister Nirmala Sithartaman for a "course correction" to restore consensus-based approach in decision making in the Council.
Mitra assured that the states will "respond in equal measures if" the Centre brings back a "consensual atmosphere that had defined the GST Council since its inception". It needs mention that Mitra wrote a letter of dissent to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman - within hours after conclusion of the 44 th Goods and Service Tax (GST) council meeting on June 12 - expressing his anguish over the Centre's "the forced decision" to continue with the "anti-people" move of imposing GST on Covid vaccines and medical supplies. He had also termed the decisions to be of "draconian nature" without any justification and had raised objection to the "unprecedented" instances in the GST council's meeting in which his "voice was muzzled" and the meeting was brought to a close by cutting off his virtual link. In the three-page letter on Wednesday, Mitra stated: "Given the impending crisis that the GST regime is facing today, now would be time for us to pull together and rebuild trust and faith, not just hear but to listen to each other's logic with an open mind as we have done, for many years in the past, when we cut across party lines and regional diversities".
The letter further reads: "Frankly speaking, Honourable Minister, an undercurrent has emerged in recent times that while the Chair hears the submissions of all states patiently, indeed, there is a pre-determined conclusion with which government of India, aided by its top bureaucrats, comes to the GST Council meetings. At times, we have found that after hours of submission by Ministers, no conclusion or consensus is declared at the end of the meeting, as in the case of 42 nd meeting of the Council."
