by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group
How Piyush Goyal took G K Pillai to task !
The mighty chairman of the Duty Drawback Committee of the Finance Ministry, G K Pillai had a taste of interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal recently. It was a Sunday when Goyal summoned a meeting in his office to resolve the long-pending issue of refunds to garment exporters. Textiles Minister Smriti Irani was also called in along with top officials and exporters to long pending problem. It emerged during the meeting that the issue is to resolved by the G K Pillai Committee and its report is awaited. “So all of you are suffering because the report is pending ?” wondered Goyal as top Finance ministry officials nodded in affirmative. Goyal asked for Pillai's mobile and dialed himself. When Pillai picked up the phone, he told Goyal that he was driving the car. Goyal politely requested him to park the car on the roadside as he wants to discuss something important. Remember Pillai has been a very seasoned bureaucrat and was Commerce & Home secretary. He was appointed by Arun jaitley as chairman of the committee to resolve the problem of garment exporters whose duty drawback to the tune of Rs 6000 crores is held up. Goyal asked him if it would be possible for him to submit the report within the next ten days. Pillai was taken aback but promised to do so. Before GST was introduced, garment exporters used to get refunds ranging from 2.9% to 3.9% of the freight-on-board value of products. Since most of the state levies, including central sales tax, have been scrapped in the GST regime, the government decided to reduce it to an interim rate of 0.39% (up to September 2017). But exporters protested saying why shall they be penalized. In fact, they wanted input tax credit on the GST paid on job work and stock transfer where drawback isn’t available. The interim report came and within days, Goyal gave the much-needed relief earning laurels from the industry. The industry watchers say it is unusual for the ministers in the Modi government to function in this manner.
Pawar's pep-talk to Rahul
Congress president Rahul Gandhi has found virtues in NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and is a frequent caller whenever both are in town. Last week, Rahul drove to Pawar's Akbar Road residence and held a marathon on prevailing political situation in the country. The meeting was kept a closely guarded secret and even after the event became public, no one had a clue as to what transpired between the two. The Fly learns that Maharashtra was on the table and Rahul wanted to pick Pawar's brain on prevailing political situation in the country and how things are moving. It was at this juncture that Pawar reported to have suggested that Congress being the leading Opposition party should take the lead in sealing alliances in states. Pawar also said that a victory here should not bring in complacency. The unity is required in Opposition ranks from top to bottom and effective synergy is needed at the booth level. Pawar also told Rahul that Modi is capable of springing a surprise on the Opposition by advancing Lok Sabha polls to November-December. If the alliances and adjustments of seats are sealed in time, it will help the entire Opposition to take on the NDA in time. While the Congress-NCP have agreed in principle to contest Lok Sabha polls in alliance in Maharashtra, the Congress is taking its own sweat time in clinching such arrangements in other major states.
KejriCare VS ModiCare
While Most of the states have fallen in line and agreed to implement the ModiCare scheme, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has stood his grounds. He says that his Health for All scheme is far more superior than the one proposed by Modi government's much-touted ModiCare. Kejriwal says he doesn't need health insurance cover of Rs 5 lakhs per year per family at a premium of Rs 1000-1050. Why bring in insurance companies when the Delhi government directly provides health facilities to all ?. He has trashed the Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM) scheme as middlemen and touts will benefit. He claimed that the Delhi government's DAK (Delhi Arogya Kosh) highly successful and benefiting the citizens of the Capital in a big way. Its a unique scheme under which all kinds of diagnostic tests and treatment and medicines are free once a doctor of Delhi government hospital recommends. Even the treatment/hospitalization in free. The Delhi government has agreements with 25 Delhi private hospitals and diagnostic centers where patients don't have to pay and all expenses will be paid for by the government directly. Kejriwal says ModiCare should adopt KejriCare.
Mayawati wants pan-India alliance with Congress
The Congress leadership is Madhya Pradesh- Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia- have issued public statements favouring an alliance with the BSP in the Assembly polls. Similar sentiments have been expressed by the Congress leadership in Chhattisgarh too. But Mayawati is keeping quiet and has not uttered a word. She is talking to all the parties all the time but not the Congress. She clinched an alliance with H D Deve Gowda's JD (S) in Karnataka and opened her account. The JD (S) is willing to contest Lok Sabha polls in alliance with BSP as well. The photo ops at Benguluru where Sonia Gandhi and Mayawati hugging may have gone viral. But there is no alliance/adjustment of seats talks between the Congress and Mayawati so far. Both are keen and waiting who to bell the cat. Mayawati, however, has signaled that she would like to have pan-India alliance with Congress not only in UP but also in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh. She even wants a pie in Gujrat and Karnataka too. If she wants three seats each in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi, she is eyeing four Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra and five in Madhya Pradesh besides two each in Chhattisgarh and Gujrat. The Congress wants 20 Lok Sabha seats in UP and Mayawati is not willing to give more than 5-7 seats. Therefore, the situation is very fluid and no one is willing to initiate a dialogue.
