Monsoon session from July 18, govt confident of GST passage

After a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, which recommended the schedule for the session, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said the session could also be extended or curtailed by two-three days, depending on the requirement. The session will have 20 working days for now.

Emphasising that the GST Bill is in the larger interest of the country, Naidu said, “We have a wider 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 the government wanted to get the Bill passed by consensus and was making efforts in that direction but asserted that even if consensus was not there, “we must get it approved in this session”.

He said voting on the Bill would be the last option, suggesting that the government would like to avoid any trial of strength on this issue and would strive to take all parties along. 

However, since it is a Constitutional Amendment Bill, voting will have to take place.Replying to questions if the government will step up efforts to bring the Congress on board, which has been opposing the Bill over some conditions, he said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was ready to hold further discussions with all parties, including Congress.

 Naidu also referred to the recent interview of the Prime Minister, wherein he had sought the cooperation of Opposition parties for passing the GST Bill.

In the meeting, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj told Naidu that she was ready for a discussion on the recent foreign visits of the PM on issues like India’s membership to NSG, if members want it.

Rajnath Singh, who chaired the meet, pushed for the 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.

Naidu said besides GST, the government would push for the passage of the 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. Naidu said 56 Bills were pending –11 in Lok Sabha and 45 in Rajya Sabha. 

He asked the ministries to come up with at least 25 new Bills. The ministries will have to give a notice for bringing  in the new Bills by July 3. 

Naidu said the passage of the GST Bill would boost the Indian economy even more.“Keeping that in mind I appeal to all political parties to cooperate in the passage of the Bill. We have spent enough time. We have done enough study. There have been detailed discussions with state finance ministers...concerns have been addressed,” he said.

Claiming that the government has been continuously engaging with all parties including Congress on the issue, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister said, “We will continue to have a dialogue with them also and try to convince them that House should be in order, which is a must to pass a constitutional amendment Bill.” 

He said political parties, while formulating their stand, will keep the ground realities in mind. “That is my hope as Parliamentary Affairs Minister... I hope it should get approved in the next session of Parliament,” the minister said.

The contentious Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-second Amendment) Bill, 2014, known as the GST Bill was moved in the Upper House in August last year after being passed by Lok Sabha.

The government is hopeful of the passage of the GST Bill in this session amid indications that a number of regional parties have broken ranks with Congress on the issue and are willing to extend their support to this crucial economic reform measure.