Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram criticized Nirmala Sitharaman for a comment on “act of God” (archive)
New Delhi:
Congressional leader P Chidambaram criticized Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for the “act of God” comment she made on Thursday describing the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on GST collection.
Sarcastically hailing the Minister of Finance as “God’s messenger”, Mr. Chidambaram demanded that she also explain the “mismanagement” of the economy by the government before the Covid crisis began.
“If the pandemic is an ‘act of God’, how do we describe the mismanagement of the economy during 2017/18, 2018/19 and 2019/20 BEFORE the pandemic hit India? Will the FM respond as God’s Messenger? “Chidambaram asked in the first of five tweets posted on Saturday morning.
If the pandemic is an ‘act of God’, how do we describe the mismanagement of the economy during 2017-18 2018-19 and 2019-20 BEFORE the pandemic hit India? Will the FM respond as God’s Messenger?
– P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) August 29, 2020
Chidambaram, and other senior leaders in Congress, have noted a steady decline in quarterly GDP growth rates, from 7.1% in the second quarter of 2018/19 to 3.1% in the fourth quarter of 2019/20.
In May, Chidambaram said that GDP growth of 3.1% in the January-March 2019-20 quarter was an eye-opening comment on the government’s economic management.
His party colleague and former Union minister, Jairam Ramesh, said the government denied his handling of the economy, which he called “parm-atma-nirbhar (dependent on God) “.
In his tweets today, Mr. Chidambaram also called “unacceptable” the two options offered by the Narendra Modi government to offset the shortfall in GST (goods and services tax) collection.
“Under the first option, states are asked to borrow promising future receivables under compensation cessation. The financial burden falls entirely on the states,” he tweeted.
“Under the second option, states are asked to borrow from the RBI window. It is more of a market loan, just under a different name. Once again, the entire financial burden falls on the states,” he added.
Under the second option, states are asked to borrow from the RBI window. It’s more of a market loan, just under a different name. Again, the entire financial burden falls on the States
– P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) August 29, 2020
“The central government is exempting itself from any financial responsibility. This is a grave treason, as well as a direct violation of the law,” declared Mr. Chidambaram.
Two days ago, Nirmala Sitharaman said that the pandemic had affected GST’s collection, a deficit of Rs 2.35 lakh crore for fiscal year 2021.
“… this year we are facing an extraordinary situation. We are facing an act of God in which we can even see a contraction,” he said.
The center has released more than Rs 1.65 crore lakh as GST compensation to states for fiscal year 2020, including Rs 13.806 crore for March, the Finance Minister said, noting that the tax charged for the compensation of GST was only Rs 95,444 crore.
The GST Council meeting was held amid strong pressure from states seeking compensation for the revenue shortfall amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The center is hard-pressed to pay GST fees to states that haven’t earned much this year due to the months of shutdown required by the COVID-19 crisis. Punjab, for example, said it could run a revenue shortfall of Rs 25 billion this year.
States governed by Congress (which includes Punjab) and those run by parties other than the BJP have said the center has a legal obligation to pay GST fees. The center stated that it has no such obligation if there is a deficit in the collections.
However, the government’s top attorney, Attorney General KK Venugopal, has also said that the center has to fully compensate states for lost revenue in GST during the coronavirus crisis, according to sources.
Yesterday, Congressman Rahul Gandhi also criticized Nirmala Sitharaman for her “act of God” comment, saying the economy had been “destroyed” by three actions: demonetization, “flawed” GST, and a “failed” shutdown. .
With input from PTI
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