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In a move replete with political implications, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government late on Monday listed the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Constitutional Amendment Bill, 2014, for consideration and passing in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. The Congress, however, stuck to its position that it would not let the House transact any business, except supplementary demand for grants, till External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and two chief ministers resigned.
Earlier on Monday, stock market investors turned jittery over progress on key reform legislation, including GST. The BSE benchmark Sensex declined 135 points from its previous close to end the day at 28,101.72, amid fears that key reform Bills might not get cleared in the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament.
With only three days before the monsoon session ends, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) indicated its seriousness towards the Bill by issuing a whip to all its Rajya Sabha members to be present in the House on Tuesday. The Congress, meanwhile, dropped no hint that it might relent on its "no resignation, no House" stand and allow the Bill to be discussed and passed.
However, the government appeared to have been emboldened on Monday, with the Congress, whose protests in the past two weeks have led to a near-washout of the session, receiving a tongue-lashing from Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav in the Lok Sabha.
Yadav asked the Congress to spell out its stand clearly.
Similarly, Janata Dal (United) chief Sharad Yadav and SP MPs in the Rajya Sabha broke ranks with the Congress, and blamed Finance Minister Arun Jaitley of not working hard enough to break the parliamentary impasse.
Some ministers in the government saw the silver lining in these developments and put in place the plan to push the GST Bill.
Both in the Rajya Sabha and outside, Jaitley said the two Houses were not functioning because of the "obstinacy" of "two leaders" of the Congress. He said Swaraj was willing to again make a statement on the Lalit Modi issue, but alleged the Congress' demand for her resignation was a "pretext"; the "real motive" was to stall the GST Bill.
Also, Environment & Forests Minister Prakash Javadekar held a media briefing at BJP headquarters. He asked the Congress if it also considered the allegations made by former Indian Premier League commissioner Lalit Modi against Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Vice-President Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
Meanwhile, Congress senior leader and whip in the Rajya Sabha, Satyavrat Chaturvedi, told Business Standard: "We have made it clear to the government that we can allow only formal financial business, such as supplementary grants, to be taken up in the House. Apart from that, there is no question of any other legislative business, including the GST Bill, being taken up."
Ghulam Nabi Azad, as well as other Congress leaders, clearly said on the floor of the Rajya Sabha that the government could not blame the Opposition for the impasse. "There has been no serious effort from the government to resolve the impasse; it has rather been arrogant," Azad said.
The government's move to list the GST Bill on Monday could potentially put the Congress on the mat. If the latter chooses to continue obstructing functioning of the House, it could be labelled opposing the government's reformist agenda. However, implementation of GST requires constitutional amendment, so the members of Parliament will have to vote by pressing buttons under an electronic system - a complicated method difficult to execute if the House is not in order.
At present, the Congress has 68 MPs; the Left parties, which support the Congress, have 10; and the All-India Anna Dravida Kazhagam (AIADMK), which is opposed to GST, has 11. Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa to win her support for the Bill. If the Congress, the Left parties and AIADMK vote against the Bill, the legislation would fall by seven votes in the House of 245 members. A constitutional amendment needs two-thirds of votes in favour, in a House that has the attendance of at least half the members.
The government has also mooted the idea of calling a special Parliament session to pass the GST Bill. Earlier, after the Lok Sabha passed the Bill, the Rajya Sabha sent it to a select committee. Now, if the Rajya Sabha passes it, with the select committee's recommendations, the Bill will need to be sent back to the Lok Sabha for passage.
After several deadlines were missed during the previous government's term, the current is hoping to implement the indirect tax reform from April 1, 2016. K M Mani, chairman of the empowered committee of states finance ministers on GST, remains hopeful that the present deadline will be met. "Most states are on board for the GST rollout," he said. On the sidelines of an event, Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta Das also said on Monday: "We are taking all measures required to implement GST from April 1, 2016."
GST GIST
Feb '06: Then finance minister P Chidambaram proposes GST in Budget speech. Sets April 1, 2010, as deadline
Feb '07: Chidambaram says empowered committee to work with the Centre to implement GST by the deadline
Nov '09: Empowered committee gives first discussion paper on GST
Dec '09: Task force appointed by the 13th Finance Commission gives report on GST
April '10: First deadline to introduce GST missed
Mar '11: Constitution (Amendment) Bill to implement GST introduced in the Lok Sabha
Aug '11: Parliament's standing committee on finance gives its report on the Bill
May '14: Bill lapses with dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha
Dec '14: Constitution (amendment) Bill introduced in the Lok Sabha
May '15: Lok Sabha passes the Bill; Bill tabled in the Rajya Sabha (RS), referred to select committee
July '15: Select panel report tabled in RS; Cabinet clears revised Bill
Aug '15: Bill listed for Rajya Sabha
