Congress for passage of GST bill, if its concern addressed: Ghulam Nabi Azad

Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad told that the party does not want to make it a major issue if the government agreed to the amendments sought by it and some other parties

Congress, on Tuesday, said it was all for the passage of the long-pending GST bill if concerns of the party and some others are addressed ahead of Monsoon session of Parliament.

Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad told reporters that the party does not want to make it a major issue if the government agreed to the amendments sought by it and some other parties.

"If government satisfies Congress and other parties which have sought amendments, then there is no problem. To speak about it now is premature as the Monsoon session is one-and-a- half months away," he said.

The government had targeted to roll out the nationwide single tax regime from April 1, but the Constitutional Amendment Bill on GST has been stuck in the Rajya Sabha due to opposition by Congress.

Azad's remarks came on a day when Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in Kolkata that virtually all states have supported the idea of GST except Tamil Nadu which has "some reservations".

He said, however, there was "no deadline as such" for the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax which aims to subsume a string of state and central level levies.