The issue appears to have cropped up when Godinho made a plea before the Council to show preference towards smaller states which are struggling financially with Thiagarajan interjecting that his constituency is as large as the state of Goa, demanding Tamil Nadu should be given additional weightage in the council decision-making process.
Goa’s transport minister Mauvin Godinho on Saturday said the finance minister of Tamil Nadu Palanivel Thiagarajan insulted Goa at the GST council meeting chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman by suggesting that being a small state, Goa’s views shouldn’t be given much weightage.
I was witness to a highly objectionable behaviour of the representative of DMK-@INCIndia alliance Govt of Tamil Nadu in GST Council Meet where, attempt was made to snub Goa's view because of being a Small State. This is against the democratic principles & Goans demand an apology.
— Mauvin Godinho (@MauvinGodinho) May 29, 2021
The issue appears to have cropped up when Godinho made a plea before the GST council to show preference towards smaller states which are struggling financially with Thiagarajan interjecting that his constituency is as large as the state of Goa and thus the state should be given additional weightage in the council decision-making process.
Godinho demanded Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin take stern action against his finance minister.
“I take strong offence to the way he conducted himself and expressed himself in the GST council. I want Stalin to condemn his minister for making such a statement and make him apologise” Godinho said.
Sitharaman reportedly informed Thiagarajan that all states carry equal weightage and all decisions are taken by consensus.
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Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan, in a letter on Sunday morning, rebutted the claims and tweeted that he hopes to attain the “dignified restraint” shown by his counterparts in West Bengal, Punjab and others “in the face of provocation”.
He also said the statement is his attempt to counter “blatant lies and hypocrisy”.
Thiagarajan said he had supported the rights of the Goa government and had done no harm to the state’s people. He also questioned the wisdom of Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant for his nomination of Godinho as the state’s representative in the council.
As a relatively new entrant to public life, I hope I will one day attain the dignified restraint shown by @DrAmitMitra, @MSBADAL, and many other Hon'ble Ministers of the GST Council in the face of provocation
But today….I can not let blatant lies and hypocrisy go unanswered pic.twitter.com/WurmjUejgQ
— Dr P Thiaga Rajan (PTR) (@ptrmadurai) May 30, 2021
Thiagarajan said Tamil Nadu’s stance in the council sought to strengthen states’ rights and federal governance even when it meant a loss of revenues to Tamil Nadu. He cited TN’s stance in support of excluding ENA (extra-neutral alcohol) from GST — inclusion would have meant future revenue gains for the state but losses for Uttar Pradesh — to further this claim. He also said Tamil Nadu backed Sikkim’s demand for allowing it to levy a cess within its borders to raise funds for Covid-19
“There was NO agenda item regarding Goa’s intention to levy any cess, so I simply could NOT have VOTED AT ALL on an agenda item that did NOT EXIST, let alone vote against it!” he added.
Godinho, Rajan added, “vociferously, and repeatedly” opposed lowering the GST on Covid-related drugs & vaccines from 5 per cent to 0 per cent on humanitarian grounds.
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