Senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on Monday demanded that private banks should be kept out of the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) and suggested their replacement by the PSU banks. He alleged that former Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s push for private entities was ‘mala fide’ which compromised national security.
The GSTN was incorporated in March 2013 by the then UPA Government with 49 per cent Government share and 51 per cent private shares to manage the accounting and collect money. Swamy who has already written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the subject said he would raise the issue in Winter Session of Parliament and have a resolution passed against it.
Releasing a book on ‘Guide to the concept of the GST’ by head of Virat Hindu Sangathan, (a venture of Swamy) Punjab, Ajay Jagga, the BJP leader said Chidambaram conceived that private banks like ICICI, HDFC would develop computer programme-GSTN-to deal with the collection of share of tax under the GST. He said in the process Rs 1,400 crore went to Infosys as a contract and alluded that a Central Minister was also shifted over the same issue.
Swamy said the GSTN has not been given clearance by the Union Home Ministry, a mandatory requirement for such an entity. “In fact that it was never placed before Home Ministry for security clearance is shocking,” he said saying he received this information by filing an RTI.
Stating that seven lakh crore taxes would be deposited in these private banks, constituting the GSTN, which have foreign holdings. These banks, he said will make profit by lending the money while also compromising the national security with the secret economic data in their possession. “Why can’t Public Sector banks be asked to do the same?” , he wondered.
He alleged a quid-pro-quo between the erstwhile finance Minister and private banks.
BJP leader said Rajya Sabha select committee headed by Bhupendra Yadav has maintained that private banks should be replaced by the nationalized public banks.
He asked why “private profit making entities have any stake, and that too majority stake” in a Section 25 company, which is a not-for-profit organisation.
“The most significant player it is obvious, in this tax collection effort should be the one who generates data collection. In this case, that would be the Central and State Governments.”
Swamy said unless these things are cleared he apprehends a delay in the implementation of the GST.
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