CPI(M) Polit Bureau has issued the following statement on August 28

THE union finance minister’s admission at the GST council’s meeting yesterday that the central government is unable to pay the state governments’ their dues for this financial year, 2020-21, is atrocious. The GST revenue shortfall for the states is estimated at a whopping Rs 2.35 lakh crores. Telling the states to borrow from the RBI to bridge this gap is obnoxious. The central government is legally bound to fulfil its obligations of payment of GST dues. If needed, the central government must borrow and pay the states their dues and cannot force the state governments to borrow.

Having plunged the Indian economy towards recession even before the pandemic arrived, now to blame some “divine intervention” for the central government’s inability to fulfil its obligations, is simply unacceptable. This is totally outrageous and misleading. The central government must fulfil its legally binding obligations to the states.