Andhra Pradesh Assembly and Legislative Council passed the constitution amendment bill on Goods and Service Tax (GST) amid chaos on Thursday.
Members of the Opposition YSR Congress staged a protest against the denial of special status to Andhra Pradesh by the Centre. They tore papers and threw them towards Speaker Kodela Siva Prasada Rao. The speaker then adjourned the house for 10 minutes but YSR Congress members continued the protest at the podium. They surrounded his chair, holding placards and raising slogans demanding that the center grants special category status to the state.
Both the houses were rocked by loud protests by YSR Congress members who demanded the resignation of AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for his failure to get special status to AP. The Speaker had to adjourn the assembly a second time.
The house reassembled at 2 pm and Naidu said that "after the implementation of GST, the tax burden on people would come down and the state and central governments revenue will improve. GST would strengthen the Indian economy in the future. GST will prevent double taxation, eliminate indirect taxes. It will also lead to the reduction in prices."
He said however, "there will be some problems in the initial stage but the Centre agreed to reimburse the losses incurred by the state governments for a period of five years."
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu moved the resolution which stated that "this House ratifies the amendment to the Constitution of India falling within the purview of clauses (b) and (c) of the proviso to clause (2) of Article 368, proposed to be made by the Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill, 2014, as passed by both the Houses of Parliament".
"The Value-Added Tax (VAT) system ensured an effective tax regime to an extent, but GST would make it more effective," he said.
"Though the states might face some problems initially upon the implementation of GST, the center has assured to provide adequate compensation," the Chief Minister said.
Also Read: Ruckus in AP Assembly Over Special Status
BY M. DIVYA SRI
