Congress's demands may stall crucial GST bill

NEW DELHI: The passage of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill in the monsoon session of Parliament looked bleak on Friday after Congress came up with fresh demands and threatened to block passage of the landmark legislation if these were not incorporated.

As a Constitution amendment bill, it is required to be passed with a two-thirds majority and the NDA government's lack of numbers in the Rajya Sabha makes it a herculean task. At the select Committee meeting on GST, Congress members changed tack and for the first time asked for bringing all commodities, including alcohol, tobacco and even electricity, within GST as opposed to states which wanted these to be outside the purview of the law.

Interestingly, most of the GST bill, being looked into by the select committee for fine-tuning, was drafted dur ing the Congress-led UPA. But the party now seems hell-bent on cornering the Modi government over Lalitgate and other issues by disrupting the session to prevent passage of bills.

Some regional parties, including Trinamool Congress, are not opposed to the GST bill. Keen on scuttling its passage in the coming session, Congress also wants to avoid being seen as anti-reform.

It was decided at Friday's meeting that amendments sought by the Congress members will be put to vote in the next meeting. With most other parties in favour, Congress is apprehensive of its proposals getting defeated in the panel.But Congress is confident of blocking it in the RS on the strength of its numbers.