Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan informed the Assembly on Wednesday that the Union government had raised the prices of petrol and diesel multiple times, but had not reduced them even once.
Responding to a point raised by BJP legislator Vanathi Srinivasan (Coimbatore-South), Mr. Rajan said that when the State reduced the tax on petrol by ₹3 a litre, the Union Finance Minister termed it “trickery”, saying the State government increased the price by ₹7 and later reduced it by ₹3. “It was not us [the DMK government] that raised the price by ₹3. The Union government raised petrol price seven times and diesel price 10 times, but has not reduced them even once,” he stated emphatically.
When Ms. Srinivasan said the 14th Finance Commission had recommended that the Centre share 42% of the net tax revenue with the States, up from 32% initially, Mr. Rajan pointed out that in 2014, the Union government doubled the cess and surcharges from about 10% to over 23%.
Citing a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report, he said the cess levied by the Union government had not been completely utilised for the intended purpose. By cutting the share of the States, the Union government was deciding how the States should spend their funds.
‘Modi was a role model’
Mr. Rajan contended that it wasn’t the DMK government that was the first to speak out against the GST mechanism, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself.
“As the Gujarat Chief Minister, Mr. Modi was the champion of this cause. He was a role model in opposing the mechanism. It was he who said the GST was an attempt to snatch the rights of the States. It was he who said temple properties should be handled by the State government,” the Minister said.
The DMK’s stand on the issue had been the same while in power and in Opposition, he added.
When Ms. Srinivasan listed out the funds “being granted to Tamil Nadu”, Mr. Rajan wondered if she was a representative of the Union government to Tamil Nadu to defend it. “Please do not say it has given but say it would be given because that is the case,” he said, pointing to the pending GST dues from the Centre.
Earlier, Ms. Srinivasan referred to the DMK government’s use of the term ‘Union government’ to denote the Centre, and quoted an American poet saying, “A rose is a rose is a rose.”
To Ms. Srinivasan’s observations objecting to a legislator’s speech in the House praising the absence of the slogan “Jai Hind” in the Governor’s address, Public Works Minister E.V. Velu said the House rules did not permit a member to speak against another. Speaker M. Appavu said a member was entitled to his/her opinion.
