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Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday briefed party MPs about all the four GST Bills, stressing that the legislations are based on the principle of “shared sovereignty” and that the government wants to pass the landmark tax reform through consensus.
In the weekly meeting of the BJP’s parliamentary party which was also attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Jaitley elaborated on different aspects of the four legislations that have been introduced in the Lok Sabha.
He explained the four Bills — Central GST, Integrated GST, Union Territory GST and the GST (Compensation to States) — to the MPs and how these legislations would be beneficial.
Former Karnataka Chief Minister and Congress stalwart SM Krishna, who recently joined the BJP, was also present at the meeting, where Congress leader and former Union Minister MV Rajasekharan’s letter showering praise on the PM was discussed.
The Cabinet’s decision to set up a National Commission for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes with constitutional status was also discussed at the meeting. Giving details of the deliberations in the meeting afterwards, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said the government wants consensus on this Bill, which will usher in a one-nation-one-tax regime. “The Finance Minister in detail briefed the party MPs about all the four GST Bills and said these legislations are based on the principle of shared sovereignty,” he said, adding they were drafted after detailed discussions in the GST Council that comprises all the States.
Modi had earlier conveyed to all parties that the Centre wants to pass the GST Bill through consensus and these four Bills will be beneficial for the common man, Kumar further said. Yesterday, Jaitley had introduced the four GST Bills to implement the biggest tax reform since Independence. The Centre plans proposes to launch GST on July 1, and the move is estimated to add up to 2 per cent to India’s economic growth.
The Congress, in the meantime, has maintained that the Bills in the present form are not acceptable and necessary amendments would be moved at the appropriate stage.
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