STATE TIMES NEWS
SRINAGAR: The Opposition National Conference (NC) core group the highest decision making body of the party on Thursday demanded an all-party meeting to have a threadbare discussion on the form of the GST regime.
“The NC core group, which met here today expressed grave concern over the extension of Constitutional Amendment 101 of the Constitution of India to the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
“The core group meeting chaired by NC working president Omar Abdullah feared that the intent of the state government can have wider ramifications on the state’s fiscal autonomy and will impinge upon the residuary powers enjoyed by the state,” a party spokesman said here.
He said the core group, which was briefed by the two former finance ministers of the state – Abdul Rahim Rather and Mohammad Shafi Uri – strongly felt that since the Constitutional Amendment will cause irreparable damage to the state and its people, the state government should call an all-party meeting.
“The state government should call an all-party meeting and have a threadbare discussion on the form of the GST regime so as to allay the fears and concerns of the various political parties and put the entire concept in public domain so that there is an open debate with the stakeholders before rushing to summon a session of the state legislature,” the spokesman said.
He said the party’s core group castigated the state government’s effort to implement the GST regime in the state in a “hush-hush manner to please the powers that be” in New Delhi and thereby “bartering” the interests of the state and its people to remain in power.
The core group noted that the present Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu, who today is the strongest votary of GST implementation in the state, is on the record having said “come GST and neither the state legislature nor the state cabinet will have a say on J-K taxation”, the spokesman said.
He said the core group demanded that the finance minister must come clean on the issue and not hoodwink the people of the state.
The Core Group meeting was attended by Party General Secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar, Mohammad Shafi Uri, Abdul Rahim Rather, Advocate Muhammad Akbar Lone, Chaudhary Muhammad Ramzan, Provincial Presidents Nasir Aslam Wani, Devender Singh Rana and Party Treasurer S. Shammi Singh Oberoi.
