Venkaiah Naidu meets Sonia Gandhi; government for an early session

Fresh efforts to push GST Bill

In an attempt to bring forward the coming Budget Session of Parliament to clear big-ticket reforms like the Goods and Services Tax Bill, parliamentary affairs minister Mr Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday called on Congress president Sonia Gandhi, but reportedly failed to win any assurance from the main Opposition party.

While Mr Naidu claimed the government had addressed the issues raised by former PM Manmohan Singh and Mrs Gandhi at their meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier, the Congress dismissed these claims as “all optics”, and charged instead at a press briefing that “there is no end to the BJP’s obduracy on the issue”.

Mr Naidu’s meeting with the Congress president came as the government made a fresh attempt to reach out to the Congress on the GST Bill. Union finance minister Arun Jaitley had earlier spoken to Rajya Sabha Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad on the bill in the Winter Session. Mrs Gandhi reportedly told Mr Naidu that her party would discuss the issue and “get back”.

The government is keen to advance the Budget Session, that normally begins in the third week of February, by a few days to clear the GST and Real Estate Bills. Though the regional parties have largely expressed support to the two Bills, the Congress has refused to come on board.

Congress leader Kapil Sibal, briefing the media, said: “What proposal There is no proposal from the government side. If he had to accept our demands, why would finance minister Arun Jaitley say that shrinking the Congress’ strength in the Rajya Sabha will make GST happen ” Mr Sibal also scotched suggestions that the government had accepted the Congress’ demands and sent a proposal to Mrs Gandhi through Mr Naidu.

Asked repeatedly why Mr Naidu had met the Congress president if there was no forward movement on the GST Bill, Mr Sibal said: “This is all optics. He (Mr Naidu) came and met Mrs Gandhi. They have to show all this. Had there been anything substantial, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and finance minister Jaitley would have gone on Twitter by now.” Mr Naidu, however, said he had met Mrs Gandhi in his capacity as parliamentary affairs minister.