'Now or never' moment for GST next week

Congress not keen on attending Monday all-party meeting

The chances of the Constitution amendment Bill for the proposed goods and services tax (GST) getting passed by the Rajya Sabha in the ongoing session of Parliament receded further with the main opposition party, the Congress, on Friday indicating it might not attend the all-party meeting the government plans to call to resolve the legislative logjam. Parliament will reconvene on Monday.

Government sources conceded some of the conventions agreed between the ruling coalition and the opposition during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) years had come to haunt the National Democratic Alliance government. The Congress-led UPA-2 had agreed to the demand of the then Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Opposition that no Bills would be passed when a House has not in order.

Congress leader Anand Sharma said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should spell out a ‘tangible proposal’ for any all-party meeting. “We will not attend such a meeting merely for a photo-opportunity, to eat sandwiches and drink tea. The PM must first tell us what action is being taken on our demands,” he said. The Congress has demanded resignations of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje in the Lalit Modi controversy and Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan in the Vyapam scam.

Sharma said Parliament was not functioning because of the ‘arrogance’ and ‘obstinacy’ of the PM, and hoped for better sense to dawn on the government by Monday so that the remainder of the session was more fruitful.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu said he was still ‘optimistic’ about passage of GST during the current session, despite Parliament failing to transact any substantive legislative business for a second week in succession. Both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha were repeatedly adjourned on Friday as well because of the protests by the Congress and other opposition parties.

With only nine working days left to the session that concludes on August 13, another senior minister termed it a “now or never” moment for the much-awaited GST legislation. It is crucial for Parliament to pass the Bill in the current session if GST rollout is to happen by April 1, 2016.

Naidu blamed the Congress for blocking the country’s development and said the government is “willing to walk an extra mile” to accommodate the concerns of the Congress on key legislations. He said four major Bills already passed by the Lok Sabha were to be taken up by the Rajya Sabha – GST, protection of whistleblowers, juvenile justice and repealing of appropriation Acts. The Rajya Sabha was also to take up the Real Estate Regulation Bill after  submission of a report on it by the select committee.

The Parliamentary affairs minister said the government had in the past 14 months has tried to deliver its mandate of development and good governance without any allegations of scams, and had not indulged in ‘vendetta politics’. He said the government wanted an all-party meeting on Friday itself, but the Congress did not confirm participation.