BJP has made GST Bill a prestige issue, says Congress

On the crucial GST issue, Naidu said that the government has chose to have dialogue with Congress. “It will address concerns of Opposition on GST and other bills”, he said after the NDA meet.

“The government should come up with structured proposals on GST”, Sharma, chief tax negotiator for Congress and its deputy leader in the upper house, told Reuters. “Microphones of our MPs (Members or Parliament) are switched off in the House”.

While opposition parties have made it clear in the past several weeks that they supported the rising chorus against the “intolerance” allegedly allowed to grow unchecked under the present government, the Centre has denounced the campaign, dismissing it as a politically-motivated movement with no real, legitimate basis.

The CPI-M leader said there had been an array of “economic attacks” on people including rise in price of petroleum products.

Yechury blamed the government for disruptions in the parliament. But the government had slashed expenditure on welfare schemes, including on education and health care, he said.

The previous session of the parliament was decidedly a damp squid. The Bharatiya Janata Party has spent the last few days meeting internally, as well as reaching out to the Opposition to figure a way forward for the much-delayed Goods and Services Tax, which would help turn India into one common market and presumably spur growth.

The Congress leaders listed the issues that they said the main opposition party would not compromise on – the 1% tax for manufacturers, the constitutional cap of 18 percent for GST rate and an independent dispute resolution mechanism for GST. The recent Bihar election, which the BJP lost handsomely, may also figure as the opposition looks forward to corner the government.

“That is our motive”, he said, adding that Congress did not oppose the bill in Lok Sabha but did so in Rajya Sabha due to political reasons.

Ahmed said that parliament should function smoothly as it is a platform to raise public issues.

Union finance minister Arun Jaitley said in a television interview on Wednesday that these three Congress demands had not been included in its original GST bill.

If the BJP and the Congress see eye to eye on GST, the chances of the GST bill being passed during the current session of Parliament are bright, say experts.

A parliamentary session beginning on Thurs. will show buyers whether or not he can lastly push via a goods-and-services tax, referred to as GST, in that has-been repeatedly blocked by opponents.

PRS Legislative Research, which tracks the work of parliament, said the key lay in the government building consensus.

Giving details of the Government Business for the Winter session, Naidu said that in consultation with various ministries, 38 items have been identified of which 22 items have been prioritised. Disruptions in either house would delay the passage of bills.

The Finance Ministry also plans to call a meeting of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers soon to start a discussion on the revenue neutral rate.