Congress slams government for not referring GST Bill to standing committee

Reiterating that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill should be sent to the Standing Committee, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday alleged that the government has violated all parliamentary procedures by directly introducing it in the current session of Parliament.

"Around eight to nine amendments have been brought by the Modi Government, but what repercussions these amendments will have can only be understood when the bill is referred to the Standing Committee with a time limit set by the Speaker on the same. The time limit could be one or two months after which it should be sent back from the Standing Committee," he said.

Asserting that every bill is referred to a Standing Committee first, Kharge said the government has violated all parliamentary procedures with its move.

"Every bill is referred to a Standing Committee first, but the Central Government has violated all parliamentary procedures. The bill has been directly introduced in the current session of the Parliament,"

said Kharge.

"Hence, there lies no scope of detailed discussion over the bill. Moreover, the loopholes that need to be addressed are being overlooked due to shortage of time," he added.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has issued whip to its MPs to be present during the passage of the GST bill in the Lok Sabha.

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu while talking to the media after the BJP parliamentary party meeting today sought the cooperation of the opposition parties to support the government in passing of the bill.

Naidu said there was lot of consultations held on the GST Bill with all the stakeholders.

Stating that the GST will arrest leakages of revenue, Naidu said its passage will help in the development of the country.