The coming session of Parliament is going to “stormy”, the main Opposition Congress indicated, suggesting that it will take up “scam” in the GSPC, as mentioned in the CAG report, and said despite just
The coming session of Parliament is going to “stormy”, the main Opposition Congress indicated, suggesting that it will take up “scam” in the GSPC, as mentioned in the CAG report, and said despite just four days remaining for the session to begin, the government has not approached the Opposition for resolving issues concerning the crucial Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill.
While the Congress has already demanded a JPC probe into the GSPC scam, that took place when Narendra Modi was Gujarat chief minister, the government, which has been short of a majority in the Rajya Sabha, can manage numbers with the help of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamul Congress in the passage of bills.
But the real issue is whether the Samajwadi Party and the BSP can afford to be a “constructive Opposition” in the Rajya Sabha ahead of the Uttar Pradesh polls.
While the ruling BJP has suddenly become aggressive on the Ishrat Jahan issue, trying to isolate the Congress, but in reality non-BJP parties barring the AIADMK and the BJD are compelled to come together against the government on issues like drought, relations with Pakistan, price rise, unrest in university campuses and imposition of President’s Rule in Uttarakhand.
Besides, the BJP cannot take ally Shiv Sena’s support for granted. On Wednesday, the Congress said the real reason for the non-passage of the key reform measure (GST bill) was due to it being “red flagged” by the RSS. It, however, did not elaborate.
Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala replied in the negative when asked by reporters whether the government has taken any initiative to resolve the deadlock over the bill which is stuck in the Rajya Sabha.
The GST bill, which seeks to replace a slew of Central and state levies with a uniform rate, was passed by the Lok Sabha in May and is pending ratification by the Rajya Sabha, where the ruling NDA does not have a majority.
