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The Centre on Wednesday appointed KM Mani, finance, law and housing minister of Kerala, as the chairman of empowered committee of state finance ministers on goods and services tax (GST), amid the demands of his resignation by the opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) for the alleged bribery charges in the bar licence scandal.
The development comes after a meeting of finance minister Arun Jaitley with state finance ministers last week to elect the chief of the committee, which has been headless following the resignation of Abdul Rahim Rather, former finance minister of Jammu & Kashmir in December.
Failing to arrive at a consensus, the states had unanimously agreed that the Union finance minister should decide on the new EC chief. The Centre has announced on April 1, 2016 as the implementation date for the proposed goods and services (GST) tax and the EC is entrusted with its smooth roll-out.
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“Based on wide consultations … , there is general consensus that KM Mani, minister of finance, law and housing, Kerala, may take over as the new chairman of the EC,” an official statement said.
Mani, the leader of Kerala Congress (M), has presented the maximum — 13 — Budgets in the Legislative Assembly as finance minister.
He was booked for alleged bribery by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau in December last year.
Mani had presented the Budget 2015-16 amid unprecedented protests by the Opposition, which had threatened that he would not be allowed to present the Budget. ens
