Rift Between Lalu and Nitish Over GST Launch Attendance

All the three partners of the Grand Alliance had worked together with others to pass the GST bill in April 2016.

Walking the tightrope, the Janata Dal United (JDU) has left it to its MPs to decide whether they want to attend the GST launch at the Parliament on 30 June or not. The Nitish Kumar-led party had earlier been in favour of attending the event, but it was wary of further alienating its allies in Bihar, the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), after its decision to support the NDA candidate in the presidential polls invited angry reactions.

Its two allies have announced that they will boycott the event.

Also Read: Live: Jaitley Asks Oppn to Attend GST Launch Amid Congress Boycott

RJD Will Skip GST Launch

While senior JD(U) leader and Rajya Sabha member Sharad Yadav is likely to skip the midnight event, several party MPs say they are yet to get instructions about whether to attend it or not.

Moreover, Nitish’s alliance partner Lalu Prasad-led RJD too has decided against attending the special 30 June midnight meeting for the nationwide GST launch. Lalu’s close aide and Bihar MLA Bhola Yadav said that the decision to keep away from the GST rollout event was taken because the NDA government had tweaked the one taxation legislation from its original form in which it was approved in Parliament.

The Grand Alliance Had Worked Together to Pass the GST

All the three partners (JDU, RJD, Congress) of the Grand Alliance had worked together with others to pass the GST bill in both houses of the Bihar legislature in April 2016. Even on Wednesday, the alliance government's cabinet meeting, attended by ministers from the three parties, had approved a proposal to implement GST in the state from 1 July.

The different stands by Grand Alliance partners over the GST came about when the infighting over Nitish Kumar's decision to support the NDA pick for presidential poll Ram Nath Kovind had just subsided following intervention by top leaders.

According to a report by the Indian Express, sources within the JD(U) and the RJD had claimed that the relationship between the two parties was on the decline, and that Lalu’s party was on the retreat after his family become the target of tax notices and property raids.

(With inputs from PTI)

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