Government to corner Congress on the issue in House
_0_0_0_0_0_0_0.jpg "Centre sure of GST Bill")
Arun Jaitley has earmarked Rs 7,940 crore for recapitalisation of PSU banks
New Delhi: The government is confident of isolating the Congress on the goods and services tax (GST) Bill in the forthcoming monsoon session of Parliament as the BJP is banking on the support of the Trinamul, AIADMK and the BJD, among others. Even the BJP’s political rivals — the JD(U) and the Samajwadi Party — have conveyed support to the party on the GST Bill.
The Centre, however, is not actually concerned over the Land Acquisition Bill getting stalled yet again as the BJP itself is not keen on getting the legislation through before the Bihar polls. Speaking in New York, finance minister Arun Jaitley said that a parliamentary panel will submit report on the Bill in the second week of July.
On the other hand, the government is not too keen to push through the Land Acquisition Bill before the Bihar Assembly elections. After the rout in Delhi, the forthcoming polls in the state are crucial for the party as it is also expected to have a major impact on the political authority of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah. The saffron spin doctors are against taking any steps which could “upset” the electorate on the poll eve.
As for GST, the BJP is confident that regional satraps like Mamata Banerjee, AIADMK’s J. Jayalalithaa and BJD chief Naveen Patnaik will support them. The Congress has refused to support the Bill in its present form. It wants the Centre to remove the proposed one per cent extra tax on GST for “manufacturing states” and include tobacco and electricity under the legislation.
BJP leaders claim that there’s a “division” in the Congress over the GST bill and “once isolated on the issue, it will come around to support [it]”. Even the leaders of the Janata Parivar constituents have privately conveyed to the BJP that they are onboard on the GST Bill.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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