GST Aimed At Poll-Bound Gujarat: Yashwant Sinha to The Quint

The former FM said he was optimistic about GST, but had a problem with the way it was designed and implemented.

The Quint’s Editorial Director Sanjay Pugalia in conversation with former finance minister Yashwant Sinha. (Photo: The Quint)

Yashwant Sinha, former finance minister, spoke to The Quint’s Editorial Director Sanjay Pugalia about the performance of the BJP government – and the status of the economy, with special emphasis on demonetisation and GST.

Sinha recently made news with his strong critique of Arun Jaitley’s performance as the finance minister. In a column published in The Indian Express, Sinha wrote that he would be “failing his national duty” if he didn’t speak of the “mess” made of the economy by Jaitley.

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His criticism was met with strong rebuttals from Jaitley and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Sinha reacted to Modi slamming his critics, saying that the prime minister selectively put forward only those points which support his motives. He added that since Gujarat is a commercial state heavily involved in business, it has been affected by the implementation of GST strongly.

The reduction of taxes in GST might be in context of that, he indicated.

Also Read: BJP’s Own Critics: From Yashwant’s Fire to Shatrughan’s Fury

Sinha said he was optimistic about GST, but had a problem with the way it was designed and implemented. If mistakes are committed in its implementation, it will destroy people’s lives, he said.