Discussions between the BJP-led government and the principal Opposition party, the Congress, to end the impasse over the Constitution Amendment Bill for goods and services tax remained inconclusive.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar met the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, and the Congress’ deputy leader Anand Sharma to reach a consensus for the smooth passage of the Bill during the Monsoon Session of Parliament that starts on Monday.
After the meeting, a non-committal Congress leadership said it will continue to hear what the Centre has to say and also hold consultations with its allies. The government, however, remained confident of passing the Bill during this session which ends on August 12. However, issues such as the political crisis in Arunachal Pradesh are expected to disrupt the Centre’s truce efforts.
The all-party meeting convened by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Sunday may assess viewpoints of various parties on the list of business, including the GST Bill.
“We are trying to build consensus on the GST. We have discussed all the points. Once the session starts, we will meet again after discussing the issue within our respective parties,” Jaitley said after the meeting.
Azad said there was in-depth discussion on the Bill. “We gave our point of view, our apprehensions and suggestions, they gave theirs. We will get back to our leadership and vice versa before we meet again,” he said.
Sources said the Bill will be listed for discussion only by the middle of next week, provided there is consensus between the two parties.
“A decision to put the Bill for voting will be a last ditch attempt. The effort right now is try to reach a consensus,” said a source.