After Trinamool, Congress And Left Parties Boycott Midnight GST Launch
After TMC, Congress and Left parties to boycott midnight GST rollout.
The Congress, Left parties and the Trinamool Congress will boycott the midnight rollout of the Goods and Service Tax regime on the midnight of June 30.
The government will officially roll out the new indirect tax regime from the Central Hall of Parliament. Opposition leaders were invited to attend the event.
The Congress, while announcing its decision to skip the launch, said special midnight sessions at the Central Hall of parliament have historically taken place only to celebrate India’s independence and its jubilee celebrations. Besides, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has been silent about major events across the country from the ongoing farmer’s distress to atrocities against minorities and Dalits, party spokesperson Ghulam Nabi Azad added.
While former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is a special invitee, it is still unclear whether he will also boycott the event. Singh is unlikely to attend the event, wire agency PTI reported, citing people it did not identify. Congress Spokesperson Sanjay Jha told BloombergQuint that he was not privy to that information.
The Congress’ boycott comes days after the Trinamool Congress leader and Chief Minister of West Bengal also announced that her party would not attend the midnight roll out of the Goods and Service Tax
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley responded to what he called a ‘symbolic boycott’ with a reminder that opposition parties including the Congress were very much part of the decision-making behind the GST.