NDA is optimistic over the passage of GST Bill: Naidu

A day after meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and top Congress leaders Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi, the ruling BJP is quite hopeful of getting the senior Congress leadership on board for passing the GST Bill in Parliament.

The government has called Khan’s comment a conspiracy by the opposition Congress to defame India.

Taking about the current status of the landmark bill, Naidu added that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has held extensive consultations with various states and that the bill has been referred to the select committee and they have made their recommendations.

The government is also keen that Congress is onboard in the passage of the Constitution amendment bill as it is primarily a Congress bill.

The Congress insider also said that the party’s Parliamentary Party will take a final decision on the floor strategy.

“GST is a bill which was brought by us and therefore we would be thinking about it for sure”.

“For the first time the prime minister has realized the importance of discussing a policy issue with the opposition”, said an aide to Sonia Gandhi, who confirmed she would attend the meeting at Modi’s official residence together with former prime minister Manmohan Singh.

Modi, 65, has raised India’s global profile with a series of trips overseas but suffered his biggest setback as prime minister when his nationalist party crashed to defeat in a big state election this month.

Asked about GST, which is hanging fire for the last several years, Rahul said, “we strongly believe in GST”.

Government treats 24 of these items as under the priority category, which include GST bill, three bills related to replacement of Ordinances and Real Estate Regulation Bill.

The Govt wants GST to be passed in parliament in this session while Congress is looking for some key changes in it.

The government has been forced to seek the support of the Congress for the passage of the GST Bill as it is in a minority in the Rajya Sabha.

Azad said in one of the newspapers Jaitley reportedly said he was willing to talk to the Opposition on the GST issue, while in the other he said the Government had rejected the concerns expressed by the Congress on the legislation. “We will go by it if they have kept it in the benefit of the people”, Tiwari told ANI. It is also opposed to states being given powers to levy an addition 1% tax on the supply of goods over and above GST rate.