Rajnath unaware of Naga Accord: Rahul
Source: The Sangai Express

Mumbai, January 17 2016: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Friday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that it is only Modi and a close coterie in government who are in the know about the decisions being taken.

In a media interaction on Friday, Gandhi cited the Naga Peace Accord which the Centre had signed with the NSCN (I-M) and said even Union home minister Rajnath Singh was kept in the dark about the accord being entered into, reports The Economic Times.

"The Congress president called me and told me that the PM has informed about signing the Naga peace accord.

She wanted me to check with the chief ministers of the north eastern states about the Naga Accord.

"The Manipur, Nagaland, Assam chief ministers all of whom told me that they had no idea about the accord being signed.

When we spoke to home minister Rajnath Singh, even he did not have any idea about the accord being signed," said Gandhi.

"Who is the interlocutor to sign anything?" he added.

On the Goods and Services Taxes (GST) Rahul Gandhi said in just "15 minutes" the GST Bill will be passed in Parliament with the support of Congress once the Modi government accepts the conditions set by his party.

"A compromise with the government is possible on GST and it is by sitting across the table, but the government is not willing to do so," he said.

The day the conditions are accepted, we will pass the GST (in Parliament).

It will take just 15 minutes," he said.

"We don't want a GST where there's no cap on taxes.

We want a limitation on the maximum tax that can be charged.

Also, dispute resolution must be fair and neutral.

I don't think it's wrong of us to say that," Rahul said while explaining the conditions put by Congress to back GST.

"It was Congress which brought in the GST legislation.

The BJP then stopped GST in Parliament for seven years.

Jaitley then did not allow it to pass.

Narendra Modi, as CM of Gujarat, did not allow GST to pass,"he said.

"Jaitley doesn't have to tell me GST is good.

I know it's good," he said.

The constitutional amendment bill to usher in the single tax regime in the country has been stuck in the Rajya Sabha where the BJP is in a minority.

The government wants to roll out GST from April 1 and hopes that a consensus will emerge for its passage in the budget session of Parliament that will begin in the second half of February.

Rahul also attacked the Centre's ambitious Start-Up mission, saying there is a contradiction in pushing for start-ups and being "intolerant".

He said the RSS has a very "rigid vision" for India and that start ups require free movement of ideas.

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