Coimbatore. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday that the decisions taken in the GST Council meeting were not unilateral but were taken with the consensus of all the states. Sitharaman strongly objected to the allegations of discrimination leveled by Tamil Nadu’s ruling party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and said that the state has received more money.
The DMK had said that against the one rupee given by Tamil Nadu to the Centre, the state has got back only 29 paise. Sitharaman told reporters here, “The minister of Tamil Nadu is also a member of the GST Council. All the decisions taken in the GST Council have been taken unanimously and no decision has been taken by ignoring the disagreement.” She said that no minister can take any decision alone in the meeting of the GST Council, the highest body of Goods and Services Tax (GST). She said that they do not even have the right to increase or decrease the rate recommended by the Finance Commission.
The Union Finance Minister said, “If the states want more funds, they should put their case before the Finance Commission or be free to approach the court…. The question is whether the allocation amount was even one rupee less than the amount recommended by the Finance Commission or was there any delay in distribution?” He said that the amount was being distributed in advance and it is wrong to say that Tamil Nadu is contributing more revenue to the Center through GST. Responding to the allegations of the Tamil Nadu government, he said, “States get 50 percent back on the revenue given to the Center. Apart from this, they get 41 percent from the Center’s share.”