The political blockade over the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in Parliament is unfortunate, said BJP president Amit Shah in Kolkata on Wednesday. "Such obstruction in a multi-party democracy is not unexpected but it does create obstacles to growth and development," said Shah while speaking at an event organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce. [related-post] He said there was a huge mandate for this government to take forward India’s growth and development. "One should know the strength, 1.25-crore population’s market strength. So, the target of a 10 per cent growth by the end of the five years of the BJP government will be achieved at any cost," he asserted. “There will be no ifs and buts in achieving this target," he said. "Already in 15 months of the BJP government at the Centre, we have achieved a growth rate of 5.7 per cent up from the average of 4.4 per cent of the UPA II regime." Referring to the Parliament stalemate, Shah said, "What is happening in Parliament is very unfortunate. It was the Congress led UPA II which was the original brainchild for bringing in GST and the BJP had extended all support. So, it was expected that the same Bill would have unanimous support of the House. But it hasn’t. As things stand now, the BJP government can only appeal to the opposition to respect the people’s mandate and allow the constitutional amendment for introduction of the GST to be passed."
