Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh government will withdraw all the “political cases” filed by the previous BJP government against workers of political parties and Dalit activists, Law Minister P.C. Sharma said on Tuesday, January 1.
The announcement came a day after BSP chief Mayawati issued an ultimatum to new Congress governments in the state and in Rajasthan that her party will withdraw support to them if they do not revoke cases filed against “innocent people” during the April 2 Bharat Bandh of last year called by Dalit groups.
“We (Congress) have been fighting (against the BJP government). Irrespective of any party those who have been fighting the BJP government which had sent people to jail… those political cases will be withdrawn,” Sharma said.
On Monday, Mayawati issued a statement saying if the newly elected governments in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan do not act swiftly and withdraw the cases against innocent persons framed in Bharat Bandh, the Bahujan Samaj Party may have to reconsider extending outside support to the Congress governments.
Last week, Sharma had indicated that the government was drafting a proposal to withdraw “politically motivated” cases against political and trade union leaders filed during the BJP’s rule during the last 15 years.
The BSP has two members in the 230-member Assembly in which the Congress has 114 MLAs and is two short of the majority mark.
The Samajwadi Party has one MLA and has also extended support to the government. There are four independents.
In the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly, the Congress has 99 members and its pre-poll ally Rashtriya Lok Dal has one MLA. There are six BSP MLAs and 13 independents.
The Congress had supported the protest in April 2018 against the changes to the SC/ST Act brought in by the Supreme Court which were later nullified by a legislation passed in Parliament.
Items which will attract lower GST rate of 5 per cent include marble rubble, natural cork, walking sticks and fly ash blocks.
Music books and forzen and preserved vegetables have been exempted from GST.
Bank services to Jan Dhan Yojana account holders will also not attract the GST.
Nearly 1,250 goods and services have been categorised under the four tax slabs of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent under the GST regime.
A total of 17 items and six services have been reduced which will result in a revenue impact of Rs 5,500 crore for the full fiscal.
Taking cement and automobile parts away from the 28 per cent slab would mean a combined revenue loss of Rs 33,000 crore, which the Council felt is “too steep” to be considered at this juncture, Jaitley said.
This major tax rationalisation ahead of the 2019 general elections comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently promised to bring 99 per cent the goods under the 18 per cent or lower GST slab.
