Will deal with GST Bill on Rajya Sabha floor: CPI(M)

CPI(M) today refused to reveal its strategy on GST Bill, which will be tabled in the Rajya Sabha tomorrow, saying it will be dealt with on the floor of the House.
"What is coming tomorrow in the Rajya Sabha is the constitution amendment bill to enable the GST Bill to be taken up in the House. When the GST Bill will actually come we will see," CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said.
On whether his party will support the amendment bill, he said, "It will come tomorrow, you will also know tomorrow."
The Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill, 2014, aims to lay the ground for the roll-out of a Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, subsuming various indirect taxes, levied by Centre and state governments including central excise duty and state VAT/sales tax.

It was approved by the Lok Sabha in May last year and introduced in the Rajya Sabha in August where it has been pending due to opposition from other parties including Congress over certain provisions.
Yechury also said he had met Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley yesterday and raised certain issues with him concerning the Constitution Amendment Bill. He saw merit in the concerns and assured that those would be factored in while taking the final call.

"So we are waiting the final version of the legislation. We will raise our concern on the floor of the House," he said.

CPI(M) has maintained that the GST Bill in its present form will prevent the states from raising resources in case of exigencies like severe earthquake, devastating floods or any other emergencies.
Yechury also said the Left Front has launched a week-long protest against the "terror unleashed by the ruling Trinamool" against the Leftists in West Bengal.
We have appealed to other parties also to join the protest to save democracy as it is a serious issue and cannot be brushed off as minor law and order problem, he said.