His demands were regarding permitting CAG to audit GSTN and the MHA investigating it for national security compliance.
BJP leader Subramanian Swamy today claimed Prime Minister
Narendra Modi has met two of his demands regarding permitting CAG to
audit GSTN, the company providing the IT backbone of the GST regime, and
the MHA investigating it for national security compliance.
"Two
of my demands were met by the Prime Minister. One, to permit Comptroller
and Auditor General of India (CAG) to audit Goods and Services Tax
Network (GSTN) and two, to ask Ministry of Home Affairs to investigate
GSTN for national security compliance," he told PTI.
GSTN, a
not-for-profit private limited company, is providing the technology
backbone for the collection of taxes and filing of returns in the new
indirect tax regime and Infosys has developed the software for the same.
The
company had won a Rs 1,380 crore deal in 2015 in this regard. In a
letter to Modi last August, Swamy had raised strong objections to a
majority stake for private entities in the company formed during the UPA
regime to manage and control the accounting and collection of GST.
He
had also urged Modi to ensure that it is replaced by a government-owned
structure. Swamy, a Rajya Sabha member, had also asked Modi to subject
GSTN to a "close second look" and "thorough scrutiny", questioning how a
private entity can be allowed access to "sensitive" information without
security clearance.
Replying to a query, Swamy said he was waiting
for probe reports, but did not reveal the timeline Prime Minister has
fixed for submissions. "I am waiting for probe reports," he said. In an
interview to a news portal in April this year, Swamy had said he would
challenge GSTN as "anti-national" in court as it violates his
fundamental rights. Swamy said, "Since I am waiting for probe reports,
till then, no court action.
14 Dec 2017, 11:03 AM