The crucial Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill, listed for this week with hours allotted for discussion in Parliament, has hit a roadblock, seemingly due to the National Herald case imbroglio. A miffed Congress is not “getting back” to the Government after promising to do so, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ice-breaking meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi on the Bill last month.
The GST Bill is stuck in the Rajya Sabha due to stiff opposition by the Congress party and might be delayed further because of the disruption of proceedings of both the Houses on Tuesday, just a day after the Delhi High Court dismissed the plea of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi to quash the summons issued to them by a lower court in the National Herald case and asked them to appear before the trial court.
Even though the Congress did not mention the case in Parliament on Tuesday, it accused the Modi Government of indulging in “politics of vendetta” and did not allow both the Houses to function.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu maintained that the Bill which the “public wants to be passed” was listed for the week and approved by the Business Advisory Committee with a final nod awaited from the Opposition.
According to sources, Naidu had an interaction with Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Veerappa Moily on Monday and sought to know their party’s inclination on the key legislation. He was told that since “Madam is back” they would “get back to the Government soon,” sources said in an apparent reference to Sonia returning to New Delhi after a medical check-up in the US last week. He said the National Herald case issue which was in the news on Monday was not discussed by either side.
However, a senior Congress leader who had earlier met Naidu, on Tuesday referred to the National Herald case in passing when asked about the possibility of the GST Bill finding a smooth passage in the Rajya Sabha.
The GST Bill has suffered this setback despite the fact that Prime Minister Modi held a meeting on November 27 with the Congress president at his 7, Race Course Road, residence where he along with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Naidu met Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for about 45 minutes on the issue. The meeting came after the Congress accused the Modi Government of not keeping it in the loop while deciding Parliamentary business.
Asked whether the GST Bill could have been passed if the case had not surfaced now, a senior BJP leader said “you are attempting to dig out something.”
Speaking on the GST Bill, seen as a big ticket economic reform in the country, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said efforts to create hurdles will amount to damaging the country.
“It’s extremely important and all parties must come together. Now the revenue neutral rate of 15 per cent has been announced which was not even discussed...People were discussing 22, 24 per cent.
“India desperately needs the GST, businesses and trade need GST and anybody who tries to create hurdles in the passing of the GST Bill will be doing great damage to the country,” he said.
The 15 per cent revenue neutral rate has been suggested by a committee headed by Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian last week.
Referring to the Congress’ demand for inclusion of the GST rate in the Bill, Jaitley said the Bill was initiated by the Congress itself and it should help in its passage in the interest of the country. Though hopeful that in due course the Congress will come to terms with the passage of the GST Bill the Government is worried that the current confrontation may upset the calculations for its implementation.