GST rolled out in hurry to impress world: Rahul

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday sought to corner the NDA government over the GST issue claiming the indirect tax regime was rolled out in a hurry to "impress" the world, ignoring the interests of small businessmen in the country.

Addressing a farmers' rally at a college ground in the tribal region of Rajasthan here, he said Parliament can function at midnight to roll out the Goods and Services Tax (GST) but no discussion on farmers' issues can take place "even for a minute".

"I was in the Lok Sabha before coming to Banswara. We wanted a discussion over farmers' issues but we were not allowed to speak, not even for a minute," he claimed.

The GST on the other hand, was implemented at midnight, Gandhi said.

"The prime minister wanted to show it to the world and to the US President. But India does not belong to the USA.

Hindustan belongs to the farmers, labourers, small businessmen," he said while addressing thousands of people who came here from different parts of Rajasthan and nearby states, including Madhya Pradesh.

Accusing the BJP of ignoring the interest of farmers, Gandhi said his party stands with the tillers and would put pressure on the Vasundhara Raje-led government in Rajasthan to waive farm loans.

He claimed that the Congress put pressure on the BJP government which led to the farm loan waiver in Uttar Pradesh. "We had asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a farm loan waiver, right prices for the crops and waiving electricity bills. We had even submitted a petition to the government signed by two crore farmers," the Congress vice-president said.