Jaitley meets Cong leaders on GST Bill

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar met Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and Congress’ deputy leader in the House Anand Sharma on Friday to sort out the complexities regarding the Goods & Services Tax Bill.

The government’s outreach three days before the monsoon session of Parliament may augur well for the legislation which is stuck primarily because of political reasons.

While Jaitley expressed hope and confidence about the building of consensus on GST, Azad told the media, “We will get back to our leadership and they will get back to their leadership and then we will meet again.”

The Congress wants three of its demands to be me, including the regarding 18 per cent cap on the tax rate in the legislation.

The BJP is upbeat because of its increased numbers in the Rajya Sabha as a result of the new inductions in the House, the lowered numbers of the Congress, and the fact that non-Congress parties have not shown any keenness to oppose the Bill.