Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Christmas gift to aam aadmi

Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his wish to bring down GST on 99% items, chairperson of the GST Council, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday announced drastic rate cuts on several items after the meet.

Political differences came into open at the GST Council meeting with finance ministers of opposition-ruled states objecting to rate cut, citing revenue consideration. They argued that if a rate cut is to be done at this juncture, the Centre should agree to compensate states for revenue loss on account of GST implementation for a period beyond the stipulated five years. Kerala, sources said, opposed the rate cut because revenues were not increasing.

They finally relented after a BJP minister proposed that the minutes be recorded and compared with their speeches delivered outside. The Council finally agreed to cut tax rates on 23 items of common consumption, which will have an annual revenue implication of Rs 5,500 crore.

The opposition parties, especially Congress, are looking it as PM Modi’s move to gain some traction in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections that are only a few months away. The BJP government cannot do much in the budget session as it would be an interim budget.

Aware of the political implications of the decision, Congress president Rahul Gandhi took to social media.

• “In panic mode after people’s decision in three states, he (PM Modi) is trying to turn Gabbar Singh Tax into GST…Gabbar you are gone now,” Gandhi wrote on his official Facebook page.