Govt should extend to all parties on GST Bill issue: CPI(M)

The CPI on Monday said that the  Goverment should extend to all parties over the GST bill issue and seemingly thinking that dealing only with Congress is "sufficient" is not a correct method in parliamentary democracy. 

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said his partyis "completely out of loop" over the developments relating tothe proposed legislation and "does not know" what thegovernment is planning to bring as GST bill and asked it tocall an all-party meeting to build consensus in this regard.

"Why are you not calling the meeting for buildingconsensus (in GST's case)? Now this government seems to thinkthat dealing with Congress is sufficient. But that I don'tthink is a correct method in our Parliamentary democracy," hetold reporters at Indian Women Press Corps here.

He said the government is "pre-occupied" with Congressover GST keeping in mind the numbers in Rajya Sabha, thinkingif the NDA and the UPA major reach agreement in the UpperHouse, "anything can be passed". Referring to the July 28 meeting convened by Union FinanceMinister Arun Jaitley with leaders of five Opposition partiesin Rajya Sabha, including Yechury, the CPI(M) leader said theformer said that the government is "coming to an understandingwith Congress".

"What it (the understanding) is we don't know. Werequested the Finance Minister to give us a copy of resolutionadopted on GST by state Finance Ministers, so that we willknow what the position is. But that has not happened so far. "So, what is happening on that course is only they cananswer or the Congress maybe.

But we are completely out of theloop," Yechury claimed. He reaffirmed his party's position that the GST billwould deprive states their "right to raise resources" throughsales tax and surcharge or cess and asked government toaddress the issue. Or else, he said, the states "will have to come with abegging bowl to the Centre, placing them at the Centre'smercy" every time there is fund requirement or disasters.

On Congress' demand that the government should cap theGST rates to less than 18 per cent and that the same bementioned in Constitutional amendment, Yechury said, "I don'tthink we should get this cap business in the Constitution." He reasoned that every time there is a situation callingfor waiver, then it will require bringing Constitutionalamendment. "The Constitution should not deal with such issues," he said