Nasty politics by communists on gst on silly issues without ratifying the bill in Kerala Assembly- those have not ratified, they should not attend the GST council's meeting

Ahead of the first meeting of the GST Council on Thursday, States have started airing apprehensions with the way the panel is going to function.

Kerala Finance Minister and CPI(M) leader Thomas Isaac was the first to question the Centre’s agenda.

In a Facebook post he wrote that the agenda for the council’s meeting shocked him. “Majority of the States have ratified the Constitutional Amendment and now the true colour of the BJP government is out in open,” said Isaac, an open votary of GST.

He said he was on a discussion with the Kerala Assembly Speaker’s office on adopting a resolution to support the Amendment. “I got the agenda for Thursday’s meeting on Tuesday. It concerns about the steps to be taken for convening a meeting of the GST council. The Centre can convene a meeting giving a seven-day notice. The State Finance Minister cannot be substituted by any other ministers. If the Finance Minister is absent, the officials will not be allowed to attend the meeting.

“The Centre Finance Minister has to the sole right to decide who sits where. The Centre behaves like a master,” he said.