After GST Bill was passed on Wednesday, several parties have opposed the bill, some have accepted. In one such situation the AIADMK walked out from Rajya Sabha saying that “the bill might appear belligerent, in reality it only helped the Narendra Modi government.”

“The walkout by AIADMK MPs in Rajya Sabha was in line with their consistent stand on GST. They have opposed GST based on certain points and they walked out since the government did not accept their amendments. There was no need for them to show aggression by voting against the Bill and there was no way they could have voted for the Bill,” a political analyst, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.

BJP sources said “AIADMK would stage a walkout rather than oppose the Bill. The party leaders were taken aback when AIADMK insisted on moving amendments to GST Bill and heaved a sigh of relief only when the members staged a walkout.”

However, economist M.R. Venkatesh said “the AIADMK’s walkout from the Rajya Sabha is compounded more by its “ignorance” about the benefits of GST rather than helping BJP or Modi government.”

“The state would gain on the services side since it would get a share in the service tax though it would lose on VAT file. But a huge compensatory package runs through such Bills,” he said.

AIADMK spokesman  Mafoi K. Pandiarajan said “there was no necessity for the party to bail out the BJP. We have been consistently opposed to the Bill and we have expressed our opposition. If parties like Congress supported the Bill, it is because they are under pressure from corporate, but we are not.”

BJP leader H. Raja said the “AIADMK took a neutral stand and they did not help us in anyway.”

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BY M. DIVYA SRI