Govt reaches out to Cong over passage of GST bill in monsoon

Congress has been pressing for a GST cap of 18% as part of Constitutional Amendment bill with which govt is not in agreement

The government on Thursday reached out to Congress seeking its support for passage of crucial GST bill, hanging fire for a long time due to stiff resistance by the main opposition party.

Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, who earlier handled Parliamentary Affairs portfolio, called up Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad to seek Congress' backing for passage of the crucial bill in the Monsoon session of Parliament starting July 18.

The government has also proposed holding talks with opposition Congress to iron out differences on the issue. A meeting of top Congress leaders like Azad and Anand Sharma with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on the issue is likely to be held in a day or two.

The Constitution amendment bill for roll-out of GST is pending in Rajya Sabha for a long time and the government is keen to see its passage. The Goods and Services Tax seeks to bring a uniform tax structure subsuming a number of imposts and the government claims that it will help add 1 to 2% to the country's GDP.

Top Congress leaders had yesterday deliberted on the strategy for the session with party president Sonia Gandhi at her residence where GST was also discussed.

Congress has been pressing for a GST cap of 18% as part of the Constitutional Amendment bill with which the government is not in agreement.

Insiders say the demand has become a sticking point, but Congress may relent and agree to a cap in the statute and not as part of the Constitution bill.