To garner support for GST, govt reaches out to CPI(M)

To garner support for the crucial Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill, which will be tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday met Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) general secretary Sitaram Yehcury, who had insisted that the government reach out to all parties for consensus on the proposed legislation.

Yechury said Jaitley saw merit in the concerns over the Constitution Amendment Bill and assured that those would be factored in while taking the final call. He said, his party is awaiting the final version of the legislation.

"On Wednesday, it is only the Constitutional amendment to enable the GST which is set to be tabled. We await the final version of the GST bill," Yechury said.

"On #GST, had a meeting with FM Shri Jaitley ji. We expressed our concerns. He saw the merit in them and said they would be taken on board (sic)," Yechury tweeted.

Earlier on Monday, the CPI(M) leader said the government was calculating numbers in the Rajya Sabha and seemingly thinking that dealing only with Congress is "sufficient", which he said is not a correct method in parliamentary democracy.

"Why are you (the Centre) not calling the meeting for building consensus (in GST's case)? Now this government seems to think that dealing with Congress is sufficient. But that I don't think is a correct method in our Parliamentary democracy," he told reporters at Indian Women Press Corps in New Delhi.

He said the government is "pre-occupied" with Congress over the GST keeping in mind the numbers in the Rajya Sabha, thinking if the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the United Progressive Alliance major reach agreement in the Upper House, anything can be passed.

The Bharatiya Janata Party led NDA does not have the numbers in the Rajya Sabha to get the vital legislation passed and has been reaching out to the Opposition parties.