Govt set to refer GST, Land bills to house panels under opposition's pressure

Govt gives way before aggressive Congress; announcement likely today

Sensing the hostile mood of Opposition parties, the government has agreed to send the constitutional amendment Bill for a goods and services tax (GST) to a committee of the Rajya Sabha. It is also likely to send the contentious Bill on land acquisition to a panel of members from both chambers of Parliament.

Formal announcements in this regard are likely after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s parliamentary party meeting on Tuesday morning. In all likelihood, the two committees will be asked to give reports within the first week of the next session.

The joint committee is likely to be headed by S S Ahluwalia, a BJP senior in the Lok Sabha. The Rajya Sabha panel is likely to be chaired by Bhupender Yadav, also from the ruling party.

The government felt it had to do this to break the stalemate on the matter. An aggressive Congress ensured no business was transacted in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, with the House having to be adjourned seven times over the Congress and Left parties’ demand for Union minister Nitin Gadkari’s resignation in connection with an adverse report from the Comptroller and Auditor General on a company he was associated with.

Sources indicated Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu had met the opposition head in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, and deputy leader Anand Sharma on a way forward. After that, it was decided the GST legislation should be sent to a Rajya Sabha panel (it has already cleared the Lok Sabha). The Congress believes substantive changes have been made and these require scrutiny. The government does not enjoy a majority in the Rajya Sabha and this being a constitutional amendment, it has to be passed by both chambers by a two-thirds majority in each.

While the Congress had made it clear it was not opposed in principle to the GST legislation, the land Bill is a “clear non-negotiable” item. So, when it was tabled with the government amendments afresh in the Lok Sabha on Monday, there was a walkout by the Congress, the Trinamool Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party, led by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. Naidu’s remark that it was “pro-farmer” legislation elicited strong protests from Opposition benches.


A joint committee invariably has two-thirds of its members from the Lok Sabha and another third from the Rajya Sabha. With the BJP being the largest party, it is likely to have a majority.

The prime minister was quoted in an interview as saying the United Progressive Alliance government’s land acquisition legislation was adopted in a hurry and the BJP supporting it was a mistake.

Anand Sharma told reporters, “It would be better if the government sees reason and sends the GST Bill to a select committee. Without the Congress, no constitutional amendment can be passed.”