Monsoon Session till August 12, govt says enough support for GST Bill

With the Monsoon Session of Parliament set to begin from July 18, the government on Wednesday claimed that it had adequate support to get the much delayed Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill passed.

The session which will have 20 working days, will end on August 12. A decision regarding this was taken at the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA), headed by Union home minister Rajnath Singh. After a meeting of the CCPA, parliamentary affairs minister M. Venkaiah Naidu told reporters that the session may be extended or curtailed by two-three days depending on requirement.

Emphasising that the GST Bill is in the larger interest of the country, Mr Naidu said, “We have wide support and we have enough numbers for GST, but we would like to have all parties on board because it will have an effect on states.”

He said that the government wants to get the bill passed by consensus and is making efforts in that direction, but asserted that even if consensus is not there, “we must get it approved in this session”.

He said that voting on the bill will be the last option, suggesting that the government would like to avoid any trial of strength and will strive to take all parties along. However, since it is a Constitutional Amendment Bill, voting will have to take place.

Mr Naidu said that finance minister Arun Jaitley is ready to hold further discussions with all parties, including the Congress. Mr Naidu also referred to the recent interview of the Prime Minister in which he sought the cooperation of Opposition parties for passing the GST Bill.

In the meeting, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj told Mr Naidu that if members wanted, she was ready for a discussion on the recent foreign visits of the Prime Minister given issues like India’s membership to NSG.

The Home Minister pushed for early passage of Lokpal and Lokayukta (Amendment) Bill while Environment Minister, Prakash Javadekar said there was a need for an early passage of the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill. Both are pending in Parliament. Mr Naidu said that besides GST, the government will push for passage of three bills replacing ordinances on Combined Entrance Exam for medical and dental colleges as well as the one seeking amendments to the Enemy Property Act.