The Centre, in a redrafted constitutional amendments bill for the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST), has suggested that the states also be given a veto power along with the Centre in the proposed GST council so that every decision taken by the council is approved only when all the states and the Centre agree to it.
Sources told The Indian Express that the finance ministry has redrafted the contentious parts of the earlier proposals in the constitutional amendments bill but is yet to receive finance minister Pranab Mukherjee’s approval on the changes, which if agreed upon would be a significant policy shift from its earlier stance.
According to the earlier draft, any decision taken by the proposed GST council was to be approved by a two-third majority of the council and the Union finance minister.
The proposal was rejected by the states, which claimed that the proposal was meant to take away the fiscal autonomy presently enjoyed by them under the constitution. States like Madhya Pradesh had gone ahead to call it an anti-democratic and anti-poor move.
