By Archana Sharma

Jaipur, Feb 20 (IANS): Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Monday said that petrol and diesel can be brought under the GST ambit if the GST council takes a call.

She was in Jaipur to attend the post-budget press conference where she answered at length on questions related to petrol-diesel prices, inflation, rising repo rates, among other issues.

Answering a query on bringing petrol and diesel under the GST purview, she said, "Petrol and diesel can be taken under the GST if the GST council, which is not governed by any one government but finance ministers of all states, takes the call.

"The Centre government has made its intent clear by saying that we will put it as an item under GST. Now the GST council should take a call and let there be an 'open charcha'."

On the Congress' allegations of vindictive approach, the finance minister said, "Investigative agencies like ED, CBI and others do a huge big homework for quite some time and when they have necessary prime facie material in their hands, after having sent a number of questionnaires and getting partial complete, or no reply, they go. It can't be done overnight by any instinct."

"It's strange that a party's past presidents, on money matters or corruption are all out on bail and that is through courts. And they speak of vindictive politics.

"Each agency going there has been bringing tangible material... some of which has been pictured by the media. Instead of accusing people of vindictiveness, they should explain to people and its own plenary as to why their people are out on bail by the court."

She said, "The Congress party should not speak at all on corruption, and then bring in the matter of vindictiveness. It is a shame, one after the other, every Congress government has come and gone out of power on the issues related to corruption," she said.