’Great Expectations From Parliament Session,’ Says PM Modi, Pushing For GST

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Nov 25, 2015:  Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that the Goods and Services Tax bill is "in the interest of the nation" as the government made a bid to build support for the crucial reform measure at a meeting it called of all political parties a day before Parliament convenes for the winter session.

Here are the latest developments:

   
"People have great expectations and that is why Parliament should function and be productive," PM Modi said at the all-party meeting called by Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu.
   

The GST bill has been blocked in Parliament by the opposition Congress which has demanded key changes in it. The government needs the Congress’ support to push the bill through the Rajya Sabha or Upper House, where it is in a minority.
   

The PM said at the all-party meeting that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will speak to parties to address doubts on the GST bill, according to Mr Naidu.
   

The government has said it is ready to speak directly to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to seek support for the GST bill "if necessary." It is seen to reflect not only an eagerness to push the bill, but also the realisation that talking to other leaders of the party is not bringing any dividend.
   

It has, meanwhile, already started working on the Congress’ demands to tweak GST, which aims at doing away with more than a dozen state levies to create a single market, in the most ambitious tax reform since Independence.
   

On Tuesday, Mr Jaitley offered to discuss changes with the Congress but also said that some of its demands can "damage" more than benefit the system, warning against imposing "in the name of political compromise, a GST with a defective architecture."
   

Former finance minister P Chidambaram tweeted in response to Mr Jaitley this morning, "FM’s confrontational speech at ASSOCHAM not the best way to reach out to opposition on GST."
   

The Congress is holding its cards close to its chest and that has made the government look towards other parties with significant presence in the upper house to help pass the constitutional amendment, which will need the support of two-thirds of the House.
   

Five top cabinet ministers - Arun Jaitley, Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Venkaiah Naidu and Manohar Parrikar - are now reaching out to parties like the Janata Dal (United), Samajwadi Party and AIADMK, who can help reduce the government’s isolation with their support.
   

The government wants to implement GST by April 2016, but the deadline may be missed if Parliament does not pass the bill in the winter session.

 

Courtesy: NDTV