Mumbai: Even as the GST Council meeting held in New Delhi on Wednesday finalised the much-awaited 5% and 18% formula, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar stayed away once again.
Ajit Pawar Skips 56th GST Meet
The 56th meeting of the GST council, chaired by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, was attended by a few chief ministers and state finance ministers. However, Pawar, who heads the Maharashtra finance department, skipped it and was represented by women and child development minister Aditi Tatkare.
Pawar’s absence from GST Council meetings has been a talking point since 2021. He had also skipped similar meetings in 2023 and 2024. Last year, the Sharad Pawar led NCP criticised his repeated absence.
For Wednesday’s meeting, no official reason was provided. For earlier meetings, his office had cited prior engagements in Mumbai. On Wednesday, Pawar was in Mumbai for a state cabinet meeting before leaving for Pune. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday hailed the GST rate rationalisation, calling it a step that would ease the tax burden on citizens.
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Maharashtra’s GST Leadership Praised by CM Devendra Fadnavis
Fadnavis said, “It is due to PM Narendra Modi’s farsighted vision that Maharashtra is the GST leader and contributes the maximum. These reforms are very important. Some slabs have been removed, and the common citizen’s tax burden has been brought down.”
