Finally, the long-pending GST Bill has been listed for consideration and passage in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday amidst indications that it would be supported by Congress and all other major political parties.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley held further consultations with senior Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma and chalked out details of the contentious bill aimed at bringing about a consensus on the key Bill.
Meeting was also held with other parties, including the left and Samajwadi Party, for
building a consensus on the key tax reform legislation. Another round of talks to
clarify on the language of key parts of the bill is likely to be held with Congress on Tuesday.
Jaitley also met CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury. Yechury said his party is “completely out of loop” over the developments relating to the proposed legislation and “does not know” what the Government is planning to bring as GST bill and asked it to call an all-party meeting to build consensus in this regard.
Sources said that the Government was to initially bring the Bill on Tuesday, but Congress was not keen on the proposal due to the roadshow of party president Sonia Gandhi in Varanasi on Tuesday which may be attended by some party MPs. BJP has issued a whip to its members asking them to be present in the House for the next three days during which it expects the legislation to be passed.
The Government, sources say, is keen to bring about four key amendments in the Constitution Amendment Bill which will include the scrapping of 1 per cent additional tax provision and grant of more powers to states for providing them full compensation for a period of five years.