Jaitley sets off buzz on govt outreach to Oppn

Meets Rahul Gandhi before Parliament's session begins next week

Finance minister Arun Jaitley’s meeting with Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday has set off speculation that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government is trying to reach out to the Opposition. Jaitley’s meeting with Gandhi lasted for about half an hour.

As the winter session of Parliament is set to begin next week, the government is desperate to get the crucial goods and services tax (GST) Bill cleared in the Rajya Sabha, where the government doesn’t have majority. The Congress has been maintaining a hard position, demanding changes in the legislation.

While both the Congress and the BJP have said the purpose of Jaitley’s visiting Gandhi was to invite the Congress leader to his daughter’s wedding next month, political observers are not buying this theory.

Last Friday, Jaitley had met senior Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Upper House Ghulam Nabi Azad. That too was ostensibly to extend the wedding invite, but political circles are abuzz that after the Bihar verdict, the government is making overtures to reach out to the Opposition. On Tuesday, the finance minister speaking at the UAE-India Economic Forum 2015 had said: “The process of economic reforms is a continuing one; no reform legislation was stopped in Parliament in the past, though delay may occur… The government will make efforts to get the GST Bill passed in the Upper House in the coming Parliament session.”

However, according to Congress sources, the party is unlikely to budge from its demands. Former finance minister P Chidambaram has already enunciated on behalf of the party that the Congress wants specific changes in the Bill, without which the party will not concede an inch.

Meanwhile, a handful of Opposition parties have demanded a debate on ‘rising intolerance in the country’. Given this, the session is likely to witness stormy debates on the divisive statements made by some ministers as well as ruling party members.

The Janata Dal (United), Communist Party of India (CPI), Trinamool Congress, and the Congress have moved notices for a discussion and they want the Prime Minister to respond.

The Congress is no hurry to help the government get the GST Bill passed. A senior Congress leader said: "They (BJP) stopped us for seven long years; so let them, too, wait a little while longer."

The relations between the government and the Congress in Opposition are anything but warm, with Subramanian Swamy's recent allegation that Gandhi had claimed to be a British citizen. This led to sharp reactions from the Congress.

The government has sensed the coming together of Opposition parties and is likely to play along letting the Opposition get its share of limelight. According to sources, the government has factored in that there might be a 'delay' in getting legislation such as the GST passed.