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With just eight working days left in the month-long winter session of Parliament, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has decided to give one last push to its reforms agenda in the Rajya Sabha even as it tries to win the Congress party’s support.
The NDA now plans to hold a four-hour-long discussion on the goods and services tax (GST)-related bill in the Rajya Sabha this week, along with three hours on the real estate bill, said senior Union ministers.
Prospects of movement on the GST grew on Friday with the government submitting some proposals to the Congress in expectation of a response by Monday when Parliament was set to meet again.
The winter session is scheduled to conclude on 23 December.
Opposition parties had demanded that the two bills be sent to the parliamentary committees for further discussion.
“A total of 16 bills are listed to be taken up for discussion this week. Out of these bills, GST and real estate bill are on top of the list, and seven hours have been allotted for discussion on the two bills. We hope that there will be debate on these two bills and it will be passed. The opposition must allow the Rajya Sabha to function,” said a senior minister in the government who did not want to be named.
The minister said that foreign minister Sushma Swaraj will give a suo moto statement in both houses of Parliament on her recent visit to Pakistan.
The government, according to senior NDA leaders, has also agreed to hold a discussion on the issue of price rise of foodgrains and essential commodities in the coming week, based on a demand by the opposition, hoping to win its support.
The ongoing winter session of Parliament began on a positive note with Prime Minister Narendra Modi inviting Congress president Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to meet on 1 December for talks on various issues related to the session, including the GST bill. However, developments in the National Herald case involving Congress party leaders led to several disruptions last week in both the houses of Parliament.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi held a brief meeting with senior party leaders at her residence late Sunday evening.
“The meeting was called to discuss a number of issues, and GST and Parliament strategy were a part of it. These are internal party matters and we will not go into the details right now,” a senior party leader said, requesting anonymity.
“With the kind of statements that are being made by the BJP about our stance on GST, it is difficult right now to discuss the issue with them. Also, as long as there is no concrete proposal from the government for a discussion, it is unlikely to happen,” a senior Rajya Sabha member from the party said, requesting anonymity.
Political analysts say the chances of the GST bill being voted through in this session are bleak. “There is an obvious delay in passing the GST as the Congress party has got a stick with which it is going to beat the BJP. The National Herald case is not just a legal battle now, it’s seen by the Congress party as an attack on the Gandhi family. What is most unfortunate is that the session began with a sort of bonhomie of chai par charcha, between Modi and Congress leaders which seemed like a dialogue between statesmen, of having a mature political class. But, the moment National Herald case came in, the Congress party turned vitriolic in its attack against the BJP, ruling out any constructive business at least in this session,” said Manisha Priyam, a New Delhi-based political analyst.
“The Congress party continues to obstruct the House and block legislation like the GST because it knows that it does not stand to lose anything on the issue,” Priyam said, adding that the party runs the risk of losing out on corporate donations over its stand on blocking the passage of GST
Winter session: NDA in last ditch reforms push - Livemint
The NDA now plans to hold a four-hour-long discussion on the goods and services tax (GST)-related bill in the Rajya Sabha this week, along with three hours on the real estate bill, said senior Union ministers.
Prospects of movement on the GST grew on Friday with the government submitting some proposals to the Congress in expectation of a response by Monday when Parliament was set to meet again.
The winter session is scheduled to conclude on 23 December.
Opposition parties had demanded that the two bills be sent to the parliamentary committees for further discussion.
“A total of 16 bills are listed to be taken up for discussion this week. Out of these bills, GST and real estate bill are on top of the list, and seven hours have been allotted for discussion on the two bills. We hope that there will be debate on these two bills and it will be passed. The opposition must allow the Rajya Sabha to function,” said a senior minister in the government who did not want to be named.
The minister said that foreign minister Sushma Swaraj will give a suo moto statement in both houses of Parliament on her recent visit to Pakistan.
The government, according to senior NDA leaders, has also agreed to hold a discussion on the issue of price rise of foodgrains and essential commodities in the coming week, based on a demand by the opposition, hoping to win its support.
The ongoing winter session of Parliament began on a positive note with Prime Minister Narendra Modi inviting Congress president Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to meet on 1 December for talks on various issues related to the session, including the GST bill. However, developments in the National Herald case involving Congress party leaders led to several disruptions last week in both the houses of Parliament.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi held a brief meeting with senior party leaders at her residence late Sunday evening.
“The meeting was called to discuss a number of issues, and GST and Parliament strategy were a part of it. These are internal party matters and we will not go into the details right now,” a senior party leader said, requesting anonymity.
“With the kind of statements that are being made by the BJP about our stance on GST, it is difficult right now to discuss the issue with them. Also, as long as there is no concrete proposal from the government for a discussion, it is unlikely to happen,” a senior Rajya Sabha member from the party said, requesting anonymity.
Political analysts say the chances of the GST bill being voted through in this session are bleak. “There is an obvious delay in passing the GST as the Congress party has got a stick with which it is going to beat the BJP. The National Herald case is not just a legal battle now, it’s seen by the Congress party as an attack on the Gandhi family. What is most unfortunate is that the session began with a sort of bonhomie of chai par charcha, between Modi and Congress leaders which seemed like a dialogue between statesmen, of having a mature political class. But, the moment National Herald case came in, the Congress party turned vitriolic in its attack against the BJP, ruling out any constructive business at least in this session,” said Manisha Priyam, a New Delhi-based political analyst.
“The Congress party continues to obstruct the House and block legislation like the GST because it knows that it does not stand to lose anything on the issue,” Priyam said, adding that the party runs the risk of losing out on corporate donations over its stand on blocking the passage of GST
Winter session: NDA in last ditch reforms push - Livemint
