Naidu reaches out to Azad on GST passage in Rajya Sabha

In this context Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu spoke with leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and his deputy Anand Sharma on Thursday.

 According to reports, both Azad and Sharma assured Naidu that they would get back to him on the issue after consultations within their party. The Centre has stepped up efforts to bring the Congress on board, which of late has said that it has an open mind on the matter.

Naidu’s consultation with Azad and Sharma is likely to be followed with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley meeting them in a bid to reach a compromise. That appointment comes after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar reached out to Azad and Sharma, who lead the Congress in the Rajya Sabha, where the government is in a minority despite.

The two sides seem to have expressed the willingness to accommodate each other’s stand. The GST would create a unified marketplace of a billion consumers by replacing an unwieldy network of central and state taxes with a single levy.

The proposal for a constitutional amendment to enable the GST has been cleared by the Lok Sabha where the government operates from a position of great strength, but has stalled in the Rajya Sabha with the Congress and parties like the Left seeking modifications.

Though regional parties like Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Biju Janata Dal and Janata Dal (United) have agreed to back the GST, and with their support the government may not find it difficult to cross the two-third majority it needs to clear the bill. 

It needs the Congress to allow Parliament to function so that the proposal can be taken up. Sources say the government is also keen to present a key reform to investors as one that was pushed through with consensus.

The Congress wanted the government to cap the GST rate at less than 18 percent and make the rate part of the constitutional amendment. The principal opposition has now indicated its willingness to allow the specific tax limit be listed in supporting proposals related to the GST.