External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday briefed the BJP parliamentary party on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US and Israel while Finance Minister Arun Jaitley briefed them on the GST and said that prices of goods have come down four-eight per cent since the roll-out.
Sushma Swaraj briefed the MPs about the reception accorded to Modi by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"The reception given to the Prime Minister in US and Israel was unprecedented. No Indian Prime Minister was given such warm welcome," a BJP leader quoted Sushma Swaraj as saying during her address at the BJP parliamentary party meeting attended by Prime Minister Modi.
Speaking on GST, Jaitley said that implementation of the pan-India indirect tax regime was a win-win situation for all.
"With roll-out of GST the country's market has been integrated. Inspector Raj is over. The tax burden on the masses has gone down," he said.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said Jaitley told the BJP MPs that more than one crore firms would be migrating to the new tax regime against 80 lakh companies earlier.
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Sources said that Kumar also urged the party MPs to remain in Delhi on August 5, the day the Vice President's election is being held.
August 5 is a Saturday and most MPs return to their parliamentary constituencies during the weekend.
Ananth Kumar later requested the opposition parties to let Parliament function, saying the government is ready for positive discussion on every issue in both the Houses.
"We hope that both the Houses of Parliament function properly," Kumar said after the Bharatiya Jananta Party's parliamentary party meeting.
"I request the opposition parties to have positive discussion in both the Houses, and the government is ready to debate and discuss all the issues," the BJP leader said.
The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned on Tuesday after the opposition leaders created a ruckus on several issues, including mob lynching, atrocities on Dalits and farmers suicides.
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati had on Tuesday resigned from the Rajya Sabha alleging that she was not allowed to speak on the atrocities on Dalits in Uttar Pradesh's Shahranpur district.
--IANS
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