GST Bill: Govt reaches out to Opposition

The controversial Goods and Services Tax (GST) is expected to be presented next week for the approval of Rajya Sabha. Amid this buzz, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday reached out to the leaders of Congress and other Opposition parties and held a series of meetings with them.

Congress has been blocking the bill, which was cleared by the Lok Sabha last year. Jaitley, who has also met Left leaders and parties like the BJD and the Samajwadi Party, is likely to hold an all-party meet to discuss GST soon. 

According to sources, Jaitley separately met leaders of Congress, Left parties, Samajwadi Party and JD(U) and discussed with them provisions of the GST Bill.

The sources said Jaitley met Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram in the Central Hall of Parliament. He also met the deputy leader of Congress in Rajya Sabha, Anand Sharma. Besides, Jaitley met SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav and CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also held discussions with Yadav when the Rajya Sabha was adjourned briefly during the Question Hour. Modi remained seated in the House during the brief adjournment and spoke to Yadav and another SP member Neeraj Shekhar.

The Business Advisory Committee of the Rajya Sabha will meet at 4 PM to discuss the agenda for the coming week.

The government is working to address the concerns raised by opposition parties, including Congress, on the Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill, known as the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill.

The Bill seeks to introduce a system for uniform taxation across the country and has been pending for a long time.

(With PTI inputs)