Era of federalism gone, GST Council meets turning toxic: Mitra

“What concerns me deeply is a steady erosion of federalism. That environment of federalism is gone. Now the environment in the council is majoritarian, toxic and acrimonious," said Mitra at a national conference on the success of GST

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Former West Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra claimed that federalism in India was a thing of the past and that the Goods and Service Tax (GST) Council meetings have turned toxic as basic rules drafted during its inception are now being violated.

“What concerns me deeply is a steady erosion of federalism. That environment of federalism is gone. Now the environment in the council is majoritarian, toxic and acrimonious,” said Mitra at a national conference on the success of GST at the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS).

Mitra, the principal chief adviser to the Bengal Chief Minister, said as per rule number 6 the GST Council should meet every quarter, but it did not.

“…for at least three years we had very appropriate and consensus-based meetings across party lines. The Supreme Court had stated that the recommendations of the GST Council are a product of a collaborative dialogue involving the Union and the states. If the GST has to move forward we have to maintain this collaborative dialogue,” he said.

He cited instances wherein Arun Jaitley as Union Finance Minister chaired meetings that were about different opinions of states.

“The states’ total debt burden is Rs 2.69 lakh crore. If we talk about West Bengal, the debt in books is Rs 10,856 crore,” said Mitra.

Sweety Kumari

Sweety Kumari reports from West Bengal for The Indian Express. She is a journalist with over a decade of experience in the media industry. Covers Crime, Defence, Health , Politics etc and writes on trending topics. With a keen eye for investigative and human-interest stories. She has honed her craft across diverse beats including aviation, health, incidents etc. Sweety delivers impactful journalism that informs and engages audiences. Sweety Kumari is a graduate of Calcutta University with an Honors degree in Journalism from Jaipuria College and a PG in Mass Communication from Jadavpur University. Originally from Bihar, she is brought up in Kolkata and completed her education from Kendriya Vidyalaya SaltLake. Multilingual, Sweety is fluent in English, Hindi, Bengali, and Maithili. She started her career as an Entertainment and lifestyle journalist with a newsportal in Kolkata. She is working with The Indian Express for 8 years now. ... Read More

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