Deputy Speaker raises concerns over GST, encounter in House

NEW DELHI: In a rare move, AIADMK leader and Deputy Speaker in Lok Sabha M Thambidurai on Friday reacted on behalf of his party on two different issues against the government. Since he is deputy speaker, Thambidurai and his party MPs usually do not voice their opinion against the government and have been maintaining a "neutral" stand even while sitting in the opposition benches.

But on Friday, Thambidurai raised the issue of 'encounter' with red sanders in Andhra Pradesh and also GST which the AIADMK government in Tami Nadu is opposed to after the government introduced the bill in a sudden move. Though unlike other opposition members, AIADMK MPs did not walk out of the House in protest against the GST bill, Thambidurai led the protest in questioning the introduction of the enabling bill for GST that requires a constitutional amendment, even before discussions on demands for grants for some of the key ministries had not been completed.

Even with BJP's 282 members in Lok Sabha, the government will need help from other parties for two thirds majority in the House to pass a constitutional amendment.

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan pulled up her deputy when he suddenly spoke about the encounter in Andhra Pradesh, which has been questioned in many quarters, and sought a response from home minister Rajnath Singh.

This irked the Speaker who said, "Thambiduraiji, you are the deputy speaker. You can ask me if you want to speak. You should not talk directly to the home minister." While disapproving of Thambidurai's conduct, she said, "All I am saying is, if he (home minister) is ready, I am allowing him to respond. But please do not get angry like this."

The development took place when opposition members raised questions over the recent encounters in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, alleging that people were killed by police in cold blood and demanded a CBI probe.

Later when Finance Minister Arun Jaitley tried to bring the enabling bill for GST in the lower House, Thambidurai reacted against it. At least three times he stood up to say that it should not be brought up now as the House will have to cut short discussions on demands for grants, which is improper. He also spoke about the potential losses to Tamil Nadu on account of GST, but the finance minister addressed his concerns.

The TN government's argument is that manufacturing states like it would lose huge revenue if GST was implemented, as GST would be based on the destination principle.

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