Chidambaram slams Centre for not bringing petrol, diesel under GST

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram has slammed the Narendra Modi government for not bringing petrol and diesel under GST.
“If you bring petrol and diesel under GST, prices will come down. BJP is in Centre and they have governments in most of the states. Why are they blaming states? They have a majority and they should do it,” Chidambaram said, in a series of tweets.
Blaming the government for its poor showing on economic indicators, Chidambaram said that the high inflation will have an adverse impact on the people.
“Inflation is on the rise. Inflation expectations are high. No more proof is necessary than the hike in the repo rate a few days ago. Interest rates will rise, throwing more burden on consumers and producers,” he added.
Chidambaram also blamed the Centre for the country’s GDP rate, noting the growth rate was at a “sobering” 6.7 percent and the “banking system bankrupt” with gross NPAs rising from Rs 2,63,015 crore to Rs 10,30,000 crore.
“At the end of four of the five years allowed to a government, the people cannot be expected to judge a government by its intent. The correct test is outcomes. Look at the boxes with the graphs. And every line, after showing promise in the first year, has dipped.
“From 8.2 percent to 6.7 percent in two years, it is a fall of 1.5 percent – exactly what I had predicted after demonetisation,” he noted.
He also attacked the government in terms of creation of employment in the country.
“Joblessness is rampant. The only reliable data is the quarterly survey of the Labour Bureau. Those numbers reveal that a few thousand jobs are created — or added — every quarter,” he said.
That is a far cry from the 2 crore jobs a year that was promised as part of achhe din. And I would like to ask, why has the Labour Bureau Survey for Oct-Dec 2017 not been released? he added.