New Delhi: The long-delayed Constitution Amendment Bill on GST cleared Parliament on Monday evening with the Lok Sabha approving the version passed in the Upper House last week.
Arun Jaitley, replying to the debate, said the tax rate under the GST regime will be kept at the “minimum workable rate” as no state government could annoy its people with a higher rate. He said the rate will be fixed by the GST Council.
However, he virtually ruled out any assurance that the GST Bill will not be brought as money bill, a key Congress demand. While intervening in the debate, the PM was at his rhetorical best while describing GST, and underplaying the victory in Parliament, said passage of the GST Bill “should not be seen as a victory of a party or government, it is a win for the democratic ethos of India, and a victory for everyone”. Thanking all parties for their cooperation, he said “rashtraneeti is bigger than rajneeti”.
For him, the GST’s mantra was “ek manch, marg, ek mat, ek manzil (one platform, one road, one opinion and one destination).” Saying the government wanted to bring in uniformity in taxes with GST, the PM said, amid thumping of desks: “The message is clear: the consumer is king.”
The government, he said, had always stressed that GST was important to strengthen the country’s federal structure. “Faith is very important to strengthen the federal structure of India. GST will act as a catalyst in this regard,” Mr Modi said. “Today’s is an important move to free the nation from tax terrorism.”
The PM said he had never been in favour of passing this law or any other crucial legislation by the strength of numbers alone.
