The argument that Congress should have made and the media should have covered

And once in a while everyone staying in a democracy has this urge of wanting out- witnessing the past week in the parliament was that moment for me.

Why a fugitive from justice governs the debate (or the lack of it) in our parliament-baffles me. Why a leading news reporter that wishes to place India above all, give importance to such a person by traveling ten thousand six hundred and twenty eight kilometers to interview him-confounds me. I guess it really does go to show that in India, cricket is a religion.

The discussion should have been focused on the contents of the GST bill. Unless they were auditioning for one of the many reality television shows in our country, the legislators should not have resorted to vicious personal attacks instead of talking about the appropriate rate of tax under GST? The economic participants it would impact? And the degree of that impact? The ruling party cites a benefit of two percentage points of GDP growth on successful implementation of the GST bill. If this was the case- why did they let India sacrifice six percentage points of GDP growth and raise opposition to the GST proposal in 2012. And why is the opposition currently succumbing to the same tactics that resulted in inefficiency during their years of governance. Why is no one asking for the basis of this two percentage point incremental growth estimation? Why are we not questioning if the supposedly proposed 25-27% GST rate is going to deliver additional growth?

Approximately half of the domestic indirect taxes are collected on goods (taxed at 30% roughly). The other half comes from services (taxed at 14%- raised from 12.5% in anticipation of GST). To impose a common tax-rate on goods and services such that the rate of inflation is not impacted by the same, 21.25% (based on 12.5% VAT)- 22% (based on 14% VAT) should be the ideal range to focus on. The government's proposal on 25-27% is significantly higher than the inflation neutral rate. It is therefore tough to imagine how tax induced higher prices for goods and services are going to result in additional two percentage points of growth for India. The proposal of 18-20% GST may not be revenue neutral but may have advantages in spurring growth. Why was this difference in approach not the focus of the debate? And why did the media not force the legislators to such a debate by ignoring the comments of a person who wants to assume importance by causing chaos.

We, the people of this nation deserve better. Our intelligence deserves more respect than what we were shown this past week. Our legislators need to be more in awe of the place they work in and the constitution that has given them this right. This may sound preachy and unlike the other posts on this blog- but the level of debate in our country needs to be raised.