Rahul Gandhi slams GST citing World Bank report; Smriti Irani rebuts him saying he is quoting selectively

Rahul Gandhi today said "terror" of the GST was now "globally acclaimed" and cited a World Bank report, prompting a rebuttal from Union minister Smriti Irani who asserted that the Congress president was "selectively" quoting from the study to "berate India's progress". In a tweet, Gandhi said, "Modi ji, the terror of Gabbar Singh Tax is now globally acclaimed. The World Bank says it's the 2nd highest in the world and one of the most complex." The Congress president also tagged with his tweet a media report that quoted the World Bank report as saying that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) implemented by the government from July 1 last year was one of the most complex, with the second highest tax rate in the world among 115 countries which have a similar indirect tax system.

Reacting to Gandhi's remarks, Information and Broadcasting Minister Irani tweeted, "Rahul Gandhi's hatred for India is astonishing. When World Bank hailed India's rise in Ease of Doing Business rankings, he rubbished the report. Now selectively quotes WB report to berate India's progress!" In an another tweet, Irani said, "Adarniya @RahulGandhi ji, if you are free from the world's longest coronation exercise, I request you to read this article and enlighten yourself." She also tagged with her tweet a report of a website which analyses media stories.

The website report, headlined 'World Bank Did a Detailed Analysis of GST, Media Cherry-Picked Only a Few Lines', said the media reports were "mischievous, as they have picked up the conclusion paragraph only, ignoring many positive aspects of introduction and implementation of GST in India."