Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday lashed out at former Finance Minister P Chidambaram for criticising Goods and Services Tax (GST) and sought him to come with constructive suggestions on the tax reform rather than "blindly opposing" it.
The Congress leader on Friday described GST as "very, very, imperfect" saying it could not be labelled "one nation, one tax" since it had seven or more tax rates.Responding to it, Naidu said Chidambaram wanted "to dampen the positivity emerging out of the transition towards GST".Instead of "blindly opposing and criticising" the GST, the Congress should come up with "constructive" suggestions, the information and broadcasting minister told newspersons here.
Dismissing the allegation that GST was implemented in "haste", Naidu said the new system was implemented after 17 years of discussions with various parties.The Minister said it had been "widely welcomed by one and all" across the country, "except the habitual tax evaders". Some people may be facing problems because of the lack of "proper understanding" of the system, he added.
Central ministers and Members of Parliament of the BJP and its allies would tour the states to interact with the people and spread awareness on the taxation reform, he said.
The Minister said there would be some hiccups in the beginning as reforms were not "cast in stone" but improved with experience.He said the reform was initiated by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and not by the UPA as the Congress was claiming.