Devesh
Core Member
With the monsoon session of Parliament set to end in three days, the government will make a final attempt at pushing a bill that will give effect to its big reform, the Goods and Services Tax. It will come up against a Congress party determined to stall proceedings as it has throughout the session.
Here are the latest developments:
The Bill has been listed in the agenda of the Rajya Sabha or upper house today. The GST bill seeks to create a pan-India tax regime and a common market, ending the multiplicity of central and state taxes.
Because it will amend the Constitution, the bill must be approved by a two-thirds majority in each house. The government is in a hopeless minority in the Rajya Sabha and needs the support of opposition parties to pass the bill.
If the GST Bill is not passed in this session, the government will not be able to implement it on schedule by April 2016.
Sources said as it tries to stack up votes for the bill, the government could make yet another appeal to the Congress to support it. The Congress has opposed the changes that the BJP government has made to GST, which was first mooted by the government it led.
The government is also wooing regional parties like the Trinamool Congress, the Samajwadi Party, the Janata Dal (United) and the Biju Janata Dal, all said to favour the bill since GST is expected to bring financial windfalls for poor states who consume more and manufacture less. "Rise & Shine. @AITCofficial promised GST in its last three election manifestos. We are committed to fulfilling this promise. Bring it on," tweeted Trinamool leader Derek O'Brien this morning.
The Left parties oppose the GST bill as does the AIADMK, which rules Tamil Nadu and which has, in the past, provided crucial support to the Narendra Modi government on key issues in Parliament. The AIADMK has 11 members in the Rajya Sabha.
At a lunch meeting with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa in Chennai last week, Prime Minister Modi sought her support for the GST and assured her that the bill would be amended to make it acceptable to her party.
In Final Push for GST, Government May Appeal to Congress: Sources - NDTV
Here are the latest developments:
The Bill has been listed in the agenda of the Rajya Sabha or upper house today. The GST bill seeks to create a pan-India tax regime and a common market, ending the multiplicity of central and state taxes.
Because it will amend the Constitution, the bill must be approved by a two-thirds majority in each house. The government is in a hopeless minority in the Rajya Sabha and needs the support of opposition parties to pass the bill.
If the GST Bill is not passed in this session, the government will not be able to implement it on schedule by April 2016.
Sources said as it tries to stack up votes for the bill, the government could make yet another appeal to the Congress to support it. The Congress has opposed the changes that the BJP government has made to GST, which was first mooted by the government it led.
The government is also wooing regional parties like the Trinamool Congress, the Samajwadi Party, the Janata Dal (United) and the Biju Janata Dal, all said to favour the bill since GST is expected to bring financial windfalls for poor states who consume more and manufacture less. "Rise & Shine. @AITCofficial promised GST in its last three election manifestos. We are committed to fulfilling this promise. Bring it on," tweeted Trinamool leader Derek O'Brien this morning.
The Left parties oppose the GST bill as does the AIADMK, which rules Tamil Nadu and which has, in the past, provided crucial support to the Narendra Modi government on key issues in Parliament. The AIADMK has 11 members in the Rajya Sabha.
At a lunch meeting with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa in Chennai last week, Prime Minister Modi sought her support for the GST and assured her that the bill would be amended to make it acceptable to her party.
In Final Push for GST, Government May Appeal to Congress: Sources - NDTV
