Modi says GST above politics, but Oppn to target govt on Kashmir, Arunachal

New Delhi: The Opposition would seek to corner the government for its "attempts to destabilise" states ruled by it and the Kashmir unrest in the Monsoon Session of Parliament from Monday, but also support the GST Bill which Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said was of "national importance".

At an all-party meeting in Delhi, leaders of several opposition parties spoke of developments in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand to signal their intent to train guns on the government, with Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad saying the states no longer trusted the Centre.

Modi, who joined the meet later, thanked all parties for "speaking in one voice" on the developments in Kashmir and sought their support in the passage of the GST bill, saying it was of "national importance" and urging them to keep national interests above everything else, sources said.

"GST is of national importance. Issue is not which government gets credit. Important Bills, including GST will be taken up in the monsoon session and I hope for meaningful discussions and outcomes," he said in the meeting.
"All of us represent both the people and parties and let's keep national interests above everything else," he added.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar told reporters after the two-hour meeting that Parliament was a "mahapanchayat" where all issues could be raised.

He said the government will talk to all parties to evolve a consensus on the GST.

"Our legislative business, including GST, is a priority. We want to see to that we pass the GST bill with consensus. We are going to take every party on board," he said.

Kumar downplayed the attacks of Congress, the Left and some other parties on the government over the Arunachal issue, saying different issues can be debated.

"We have assured all parties that there will be open-mindedness and we are ready to discuss all issues," he said.

Speaking to reporters, Azad accused the government of "using all tricks" to destabilise opposition-ruled governments and took potshots at Modi over his talk of cooperation between the Centre and states by pointing out that even a BJP ally like Akali Dal has attacked it over "undermining" states.

Though he did not refer to GST directly, he said the Congress will offer support to bills on merit.

"We have not taken any decision that we have to stop a bill. We will support on merit. We will support any bill which is in support of people, progress and growth," he said.