As the monsoon session of parliament began on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi shall seek consensus of the opposition parties to ensure that the passage of key reforms bills, most importantly the Goods and Service Tax (GST) Bill, which is aimed at bringing uniformity in the tax laws and making the domestic market a one common marketplace.
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On his part, Sharma said, “We will be waiting now for the next meeting which will be a formal consultation where a concrete response will be given for us to take this matter ahead in the right direction”.
Post lunch, deputy chairman PJ Kurien announced allocating five hours to the Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill, 2014, returned by the select committee last July.
Also, the Left’s demand for an all-party meet on GST is facing resistance from the Congress. “The Congress doesn’t want to get isolated”, said a leader from the Trinamool Congress which supports the Bill.
On the Compensatory Afforestation Act, Sharma said the Congress was not satisfied the manner in which the Bill is drafted. “The Congress has inherent wisdom and pragmatism”, he said. It is in this spirit that the Opposition parties have supported the government’s handling of the explosive situation in the Kashmir Valley.
The government is hopeful of a breakthrough on the key GST bill, which it wants passed during the session, following a recent meeting between senior ministers and top Congress leaders.
The Indian Trusts (Amendment) Bill will also be tabled in Lok Sabha after it was returned by Rajya Sabha with some amendments.
As per custom, Modi introduced his new colleagues in the government to the Lok Sabha on the first day of the session.
Besides the GST, another key legislation pending passage is the Whistle Blowers Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2015, which was moved in December previous year but the discussion on it had remained inconclusive.
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The BJP and its allies who constitute the NDA have 81 representatives in the 245-member upper house while the opposition which primarily consists of the Congress and its allies under the United Progrssive alliance has 68 members.
