Visakhapatnam: Union Urban Development Affairs Minister, M. Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday said that the NDA Government wants to bring in the GST (goods and services tax) Bill with a broad consensus rather than with majority.
"The Prime Minister had also hold talks with the Congress president and former prime minister Manmohan Singh ji and requested them to extend cooperation. We want the bill to be passed with a broad consensus rather than majority. I appeal to all parties to extend support and I am optimistic that the bill will be passed in this session of Parliament," Naidu told the media here.
He expressed hope that the GST Bill would be through in the current session of the Parliament itself so that it can be sent to different states and the GST can be rolled out in the coming financial year.
"It will reduce corruption considerably, it will also reduce paper work and will also enhance the GDP of the country by 2-2.5 percent," he said.
"In the last month, there was a broad consensus. The Lok Sabha had approved it. The Rajya Sabha referred it to the Select Committee. The Select Committee has completed its study and referred it back to the Parliament,' he added.
The government on Saturday expressed confidence over the ending of the impasse over the GST Bill and said that the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Congress top brass had been a positive one, indicating that the bill could be thrashed out in the next round of discussions in the Parliament.
"The Prime Minister himself rung up Sonia ji and Manmohan ji requesting them to come over for a discussion on various issues regarding the Parliament and to seek their cooperation. It was a good meeting, I was present there myself and there had been a free exchange of views on all matters. The discussion was more on the GST Bill which was initially brought by the UPA Government," Venkaiah Naidu said.
In a move intended to break the deadlock over the bill, the Prime Minister had yesterday invited Congress president Sonia Gandhi and his predecessor Manmohan Singh over tea, highlighting the need for consensual approach in the smooth functioning of the Parliament.
