Charging Prime Minister Narendra Modi with “poisoning” the political atmosphere, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has said it is unrealistic for the BJP-led NDA government to expect his party to cooperate and facilitate passage of the GST bill in the Monsoon session of Parliament.
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Determined to speed up reforms to overcome global headwinds, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday appealed to the Opposition to seek cooperation in the passage of crucial reforms legislations including the GST Bill.
Noting that important Bills including the GST will be taken up during the session, Modi expressed the hope that there would be meaningful discussions and outcomes. According to an official quoted by the Times of India, “the Prime Minister noted that the issue was not about which government would get the credit for this, but what is important is the passage of the bill”.
Parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar told reporters after the two-hour meeting the government will talk to all parties to evolve a consensus on the GST.
It should be possible to find a middle path that saves face for Congress and gets the bill passed, such as a way of legally ring-fencing the GST rate without the extreme step of making it a part of the constitutional amendment itself.
They have eight or nine MPs in Rajya Sabha, then the Congress. However, I am not the floor manager for this government.
Leaders of all parties in Parliament today called for a productive monsoon session that begins tomorrow but the Kashmir churn, events in Arunachal and India’s abortive bid to enter a global nuclear group could provide the fireworks, at least in the Rajya Sabha. With regard to GST, the government has still to revert to us on the three demands (raised by the party).
Q: I know that the TMC has been consistent in its position on the GST but let us talk about the arithmetic.
During a short-duration discussion on the Kashmir situation, Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said while his party stands with the Modi government and the coalition in the state in dealing firmly with militancy, the “excessive use” of force against the common citizens, including children and women, is not acceptable.
“The Rajya Sabha will discuss these issues in the days to come”.
“All parties want that the bills linked to the country’s development are passed”.
On the Compensatory Afforestation Act, Sharma said the Congress was not satisfied the manner in which the Bill is drafted. We want GST to be not only pro-industry, but also pro-consumer. “Everyone is in the mood to take the best decisions in the interest of the country”.
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Asked whether the new environment minister Anil Madhav Dave approached his party to resolve the issue, Ramesh said, “The new minister has not reached out (to his party)” – an indication of the deadlock when even the left parties and JD (U) had opposed to the CAF bill in its present form. BJP is bracing for the Opposition assault over its alleged attempts to destabilise governments in states ruled by non-NDA parties.
