10 things to know about the mostly unproductive monsoon session

GST, protests, a wasted Parliament session and a march to 'Save Democracy'

A stormy and largely unproductive monsoon session of Parliament ended on Thursday afternoon without key legislation, such as the Bill for implementation of the goods and services tax (GST), getting cleared. Lawmakers of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) said they would take out what they called a ‘Save Democracy’ march, to protest against the Opposition’s obstructionist approach, which led to a squandered session.

Here are 10 things to know about Parliament’s monsoon session, which yielded very little:

1. The Goods & Serces Tax Constitution Amendment Bill, 2014, which was listed for discussion in the Rajya Sabha since Monday, could not be cleared amid protests by the Opposition.

2. The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) -led NDA will meet to discuss the way forward on the GST Bill and other pending legislation. BJP President Amit Shah, too, is expected to participate.

3. A cabinet committee met early on Thursday morning but did not announce any decision on calling a special Parliament session to push the GST proposal.

4. The GST Bill creates a national sales tax to replace a model of levies in the 29 states. After it is cleared by the Rajya Sabha, the Bill will have to be passed by the Lok Sabha. Then, half of India’s states will need to support the reform.

5. Unrelenting Opposition protests, particularly by the Congress party, blocked legislative business for much of this 18-day session. Each minute of Parliament cost around Rs 20,000, translating into an estimated total loss of Rs 35 crore of taxpayer money.

6. On Wednesday, Sushma Swaraj in the Lok Sabha responded to the Congress’ demand for her resignation over her move to help former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi get urgent travel documents in Britain last year.

7. Sushma Swaraj also mentioned the Bofors scandal during the Congress rule in the 1980s. The then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, the deceased husband of the party’s current president Sonia Gandhi, had faced allegations of receiving kickbacks from a Swedish gun maker.

8. Swaraj also raised allegations that Rajiv Gandhi had in 1984 helped Warren Anderson, then chief of Union Carbide and an accused in the Bhopal gas leak case, leave the country without facing charges, as part of quid pro quo to secure US Presidential pardon for one Adil Shaharyar, who had been sentenced to 35 years in jail.

9. Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi later rebutted Swaraj’s allegations and said: “I ask Sushma Swaraj how much money you got for rescuing Lalit Modi. You must be the only person in the world to help a person on humanitarian grounds in secret.”

10. Wrapping up the discussion, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said there was no question of Swaraj resigning. The Congress walked out in protest, saying they would not accept anything but the prime minister's response in the House.
       
Meanwhile Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said in his facebook post about the importance of GST and slammed the congress for not cooperating with the government.