 "Arun Jaitley")
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar on Friday walked to the room of Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, in the Parliament House premises to discuss a possible thaw on the goods and services tax Constitution amendment (GST) Bill.
In Chennai, Union minister for coal, power and mines Piyush Goyal made a “courtesy call” on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) chief J Jayalalithaa. The Tamil Nadu government has sought central help with its mounting power dues.
The Congress with 60 members in the Rajya Sabha and AIADMK with 13 are the two political parties opposed to the GST Bill. The government is keen that the Bill, pending in the Upper House, is passed in the monsoon session of Parliament that begins on Monday. Government sources said consultations with the Congress would continue over the next two days, while a pre-session all-party meeting, to be held on Sunday, would also strive for consensus on the issue.
The distance from Jaitley’s room — number 27 on the ground floor of the Parliament House — to that of the Leader of the Rajya Sabha — number 43 on the same floor — is barely 100 feet.
The Parliament House being circular-shaped, the distance between Parliamentary Affairs Minister’s room number 15 is also a short walk of a couple of minutes.
But, it has taken a senior government strategist over two years to traverse that path. “Better late than never, but it is evidence that the government is trying its best to reach out to the Congress on the GST,” a source said.
Sources also pointed to the changed approach of Jaitley and Kumar being in contrast to the government’s attitude until now of half-hearted outreach. From the Congress, deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma was also present. Nobody else beyond the four men, not even ministers of state for Parliamentary affairs S S Ahluwalia and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, attended the 45-minute long meeting.
A Congress leader said their side put forth its points strongly, but there are indications that a compromise could be struck on the Congress’ demand for a constitutional cap on the GST rate. It is likely to be included in the GST’s enabling provision Bill, to be tabled in Parliament subsequent to the passage of the Constitution amendment.
The next meeting is scheduled for Monday. “We are trying to build consensus on GST. We have discussed all the points. Once the session starts, we’ll meet again after discussing the issue within our respective parties,” Jaitley said after the meeting.
Azad said: “We had an in-depth discussion. We gave our point of view; they gave theirs. We put forth our apprehensions and suggestions. We’ll get back to our leadership and they will get back to their leadership and then we will meet again.” Sharma said the two sides sensitised each other on their respective positions on the issue. The government had on Thursday reached out to the opposition party with Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu calling up Azad and Sharma.
If Jaitley and Kumar reached out to the Congress, Naidu hit back at Congress President Sonia Gandhi for her statement that the Narendra Modi government has toppled state governments unconstitutionally.
Naidu termed her statement “unfortunate” and that no party “insulted” democracy the way the Congress has over the past six decades.
In Itanagar, the capital of Arunachal Pradesh, Governor Tathagata Roy rejected the plea of reinstated Congress Chief Minister Nabam Tuki to give him 10 days to prove his majority. The Governor said the floor test would take place on Saturday.
Tuki was reinstated as the chief minister by the Supreme Court on Wednesday. State Assembly Speaker Nabam Rebia said it would not be possible to convene a session of the Assembly at such a short notice.
Former chief minister Kalikho Pul, accompanied by 43 MLAs including 11 Bharatiya Janata Party and two Independent members, are slated to arrive here from Guwahati late night, sources said. The chances of Tuki winning the floor test look slim.
In Chennai, Union minister for coal, power and mines Piyush Goyal made a “courtesy call” on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) chief J Jayalalithaa. The Tamil Nadu government has sought central help with its mounting power dues.
The Congress with 60 members in the Rajya Sabha and AIADMK with 13 are the two political parties opposed to the GST Bill. The government is keen that the Bill, pending in the Upper House, is passed in the monsoon session of Parliament that begins on Monday. Government sources said consultations with the Congress would continue over the next two days, while a pre-session all-party meeting, to be held on Sunday, would also strive for consensus on the issue.
The distance from Jaitley’s room — number 27 on the ground floor of the Parliament House — to that of the Leader of the Rajya Sabha — number 43 on the same floor — is barely 100 feet.
The Parliament House being circular-shaped, the distance between Parliamentary Affairs Minister’s room number 15 is also a short walk of a couple of minutes.
But, it has taken a senior government strategist over two years to traverse that path. “Better late than never, but it is evidence that the government is trying its best to reach out to the Congress on the GST,” a source said.
Sources also pointed to the changed approach of Jaitley and Kumar being in contrast to the government’s attitude until now of half-hearted outreach. From the Congress, deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma was also present. Nobody else beyond the four men, not even ministers of state for Parliamentary affairs S S Ahluwalia and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, attended the 45-minute long meeting.
A Congress leader said their side put forth its points strongly, but there are indications that a compromise could be struck on the Congress’ demand for a constitutional cap on the GST rate. It is likely to be included in the GST’s enabling provision Bill, to be tabled in Parliament subsequent to the passage of the Constitution amendment.
The next meeting is scheduled for Monday. “We are trying to build consensus on GST. We have discussed all the points. Once the session starts, we’ll meet again after discussing the issue within our respective parties,” Jaitley said after the meeting.
Azad said: “We had an in-depth discussion. We gave our point of view; they gave theirs. We put forth our apprehensions and suggestions. We’ll get back to our leadership and they will get back to their leadership and then we will meet again.” Sharma said the two sides sensitised each other on their respective positions on the issue. The government had on Thursday reached out to the opposition party with Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu calling up Azad and Sharma.
If Jaitley and Kumar reached out to the Congress, Naidu hit back at Congress President Sonia Gandhi for her statement that the Narendra Modi government has toppled state governments unconstitutionally.
Naidu termed her statement “unfortunate” and that no party “insulted” democracy the way the Congress has over the past six decades.
In Itanagar, the capital of Arunachal Pradesh, Governor Tathagata Roy rejected the plea of reinstated Congress Chief Minister Nabam Tuki to give him 10 days to prove his majority. The Governor said the floor test would take place on Saturday.
Tuki was reinstated as the chief minister by the Supreme Court on Wednesday. State Assembly Speaker Nabam Rebia said it would not be possible to convene a session of the Assembly at such a short notice.
Former chief minister Kalikho Pul, accompanied by 43 MLAs including 11 Bharatiya Janata Party and two Independent members, are slated to arrive here from Guwahati late night, sources said. The chances of Tuki winning the floor test look slim.
