Jaitley firm on GST, hints at special session

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday slammed the Congress for “Parliamentary paralysis without an issue”. Though sources indicated that the government could call for a special five-day session of Parliament starting August 31 in an attempt to push through the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill, Jaitley said he does not wish to reveal the government strategy just yet.

Addressing a press conference, Jaitley said, “Monsoon session has educated and enlightened public opinion that India’s economic interests are being held to ransom by the political frustration of the Congress. India stands educated, though frustrated.”

Seeking a reply from Congress leaders, Jaitley said, “The GST has received consistent support from most mainstream parties. The UPA government announced this idea in 2006 and introduced the Bill in 2011. Today, it seeks to go back on the GST.  The objections in the Congress party’s dissent note are contradictory and trivial.”

Claiming that the repeated disruption of Congress leaders in the Parliament is their strategy, he said, “National interest is least on its priority. The Congress party has exhibited that it continues to be enslaved to a family.”

Expressing dismay over Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s behaviour inside the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, he said, “It is for the first time that a senior-most leader of a mainstream party has jumped into the well of the House. Even the pretext of stature and dignity was not maintained.”

Taking a jibe at the Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, he said, “He has failed to recognize the difference between sloganeering and a Parliamentary speech. The more he grows, the more he is becoming immature.”