CPM not against GST: Yechury

Rajahmundry: “All sections of the country, including farmers, women, students, ex-servicemen and workers, are in turmoil due to the policies being followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Centre. Modi is implementing his own policies bypassing Parliament. Modi is creating problems rather than solving them,” says CPI (M) national general secretary Sitaram Yechury.

Talking to The Hans India here on Saturday, Yechury said the Communist Party of India (Marxist) is not against the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill. “We are asking the Centre only to convene an all-party meeting to discuss the GST,” Yechury said.

The CPM leader said the people should know that it was the finance ministers empowered committee under the Chairmanship of CPM leader Asim Das Gupta, who had chaired the empowered committee of state finance ministers which had made recommendations on the GST Bill. At that time the BJP had opposed the GST. Even Modi had opposed the Bill during his tenure as the chief minister of Gujarat and added that he has no answers why did he oppose the bill in the past.

He demanded the centre to hold discussions with state governments whose revenue would decrease drastically which would impact the welfare schemes of the state governments. He accused the NDA government of making efforts to centralize powers and weaken the federal structure of the country.

Yechury observed that the BJP is misleading the people of the country. In the name of implementing economic agenda it was implementing the agenda of RSS at the ground level. After taking pledge not to enter into politics after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, he said that the RSS has used Jan Sangh in the past to implement its political agenda and was now using BJP for the same purpose.

Rubbishing rumours that left is influencing scholars to give back awards, he said that giving back awards like Padmabhushan is not a small thing. He criticized that the BJP is making the people to eat and dress as per their direction by violating basic rights of the citizens which are provided by the constitution and replacing the history of the country with Hindu mythology. “BJP is violating fundamental right of equality irrespective of caste, creed and sex and treating only Hindus as Indians”, he said.

“I have asked Narendra Modi to assure to take action according to CRPC on persons who are spreading hatred in the society. But, he did not utter a single word”, Yechury added.

Reacting to commentes made by Naredra Modi that there is no need for him to prove his patriotism every time, he made it clear that Muslims in the country also have no need to prove their patriotism every time. Answering to a question on stalling of Parliament by the Congress, he said that the house should function and added that stalling of parliament is not correct.

By:Samson Raj