Modi Holds Meeting Over GST; Bill Likely to Be Debated on Tuesday

The long awaited Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill is most likely to be debated on Tuesday in the Rajya Sabha, despite the Congress saying it has not given any “final assurance” as it still has some apprehensions.

According to an NDTV report, Narendra Modi met with top ministers on Friday night to prepare a strategy.

Discussion on the matter is going on with different political parties to build a consensus. The government is hopeful of passage of the Bill. Most of the parties are on board.

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, “We have our fingers crossed” about the passage of the bill.

A date for taking up the bill has, however, not been announced yet.

Dubbing the GST as an “instrument of growth”, the Congress, however, said on Friday that it must be passed but it must be practically implementable.

GST is not a political instrument but an instrument of growth which was blocked by then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders like Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj.

Randeep Singh Surjewala, Congress spokesman

The Congress leader said that “issues” are still being deliberated and the party is willing to negotiate.

Congress, however, welcomed the Union cabinet’s decision to approve key changes in the proposed legislation, including dropping the proposed one percent additional tax on inter-state sale.

The Congress demands on the bill include capping GST rate at 18 percent and mentioning this in the Constitution Amendment Bill. It also wants an independent dispute resolution mechanism.

(Source: NDTV and IANS)