Govt readies for consensus on GST in Assembly

The Constitutional amendment Bill for Goods and Services Tax is all set to get ratified from Jharkhand as the Government has reached near unanimity amongst the Opposition parties. The Monsoon Session has been extended and called for another day on August 17 to pass the Bill already cleared by the lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

“We are sure about the support of all the political parties of the State on the Bill. Similar thing has happened at the Center when all the parties came together and passed the GST from both the Houses of Parliament. I am in Delhi right now and on my return a formality (of consulting the Opposition parties) would take place,” said Parliamentary Affairs Minister Saryu Roy on Friday.

On the other a meeting of all the NDA legislators has been called on Tuesday evening at the residence of the Chief Minister to discuss the strategy of the Government during the one day sitting. BJP’s Chief Whip Radha Krishna Kishore affirmed that consultation with all the parties was already underway.

“NDA meeting has been called on August 16. As far as the Opposition is concerned we would hopefully get their support. The Chief Minister is consulting leaders of the all the political parties personally and seeking their support in the favour of the Bill. So far no major objection or reservation has been expressed over the legislation,” said Kishore.

As the GST Bill is a legislation meant for Constitutional amendment, it has to be ratified by at least half of the States in the country. Notably Assam has become the first State to approve the legislation.

When contacted the Congress looked in no confusion on supporting the tax reform legislation promising for a ‘one nation-one tax’ regime. “Our party has made its stand clear on the GST. It was our Government which had brought the GST for the first time and again in 2011. We are for the uniform tax regime across the country and nationally our party has supported it in the lok Sabha as well as in the Rajya Sabha. Here as well we would ensure that the Bill is passed unanimously from the Jharkhand Assembly,” said Congress legislative Party leader Alamgir Alam. The party MlAs nevertheless are expected to meet on the day when the Bill is going to be tabled in the House.

However opinion of the JMM, the largest party in the Opposition, is yet to be made public. “We are studying the provisions of the GST and its impact over the State. There are some areas where more clarity is required. The consultation process within the party is on and in couple of days the JMM would clarify its position,” said party general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya. 

Also the two-member party JVM is looking certain to support the legislation though keeping it under warps as of now. “We would call a meeting of our senior leaders before arriving at any conclusion. If the provisions in the Bill are for the well being and benefit of the State then our party would definitely back it,” said JVM legislative body leader Pradeep Yadav.