Government aims to bring GST bill for last-minute vote

Even AIADMK, which had given a dissent note to the select committee of Rajya Sabha on the bill, seems to have been won over after a meeting between Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalitha and prime minister Narendra Modi in Chennai last week.

This one-per cent additional levy, however, is rendered unnecessary after the Cabinet’s approval last month of the Rajya Sabha Select Committee’s recommendation requiring the Centre to commit itself to compensating all losses to the States owing to the transition to the GST for five years, said a source. In the on-going Monsoon Session, the government is hopeful of passing the bill in Rajya Sabha, where it lacks a majority, with the support of regional parties. While the opposition accused the government of making no effort to end the deadlock, the ruling side hit back by saying that Congress was resorting to “disruption” as a determined strategy of not allowing Parliament to function.

Uproar in both the houses of Parliament. While the Congress party demanded that the bill be sent to a Standing Committee, the government pushed it through the Lok Sabha, where it has a significant majority. Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav was first to voice his stand. TMC, NCP and RJD supported him.

Despite facing criticism for paralysing parliament over the past three weeks, the Congress Party has stuck to its “resignations before discussion” stand, and the BJP has attempted to isolate its main political rival within the opposition.

The GST subsumes various central indirect taxes including the central excise duty, countervailing duty, service tax, etc. It also subsumes state value added tax, octroi and entry tax, luxury tax, etc. GST can boost India’s GDP by 1-2 %.

Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta Das said: “We have to wait for what Parliament decides on GST”.

A visibly irate Jaitley said that it was an “unfortunate commentary” on the upper house if the Leader of Opposition speaks, but the government is not allowed to respond.

While answering another query, the minister said that the government is committed for development and earlier the GST was stalled as the Congress had then failed to generate consensus among the states over the issue.