GST Bill: Arun Jaitley holds talks with Congress leaders, criticises Parliament logjam
The Centre and the Opposition failed to arrive at a conclusion during the discussion and decided to continue to meet.
Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Monday held inconclusive talks with senior Congress leaders on the Goods & Service Tax Bill. With just eight days left for the Winter session of Parliament to end, Jaitley and Parliamentary Affairs minster Venkaiah Naidu met with Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and Deputy Leader Anand Sharma, reported PTI. After the two parties failed to arrive at a conclusion, they decided to "continue to meet".
The Centre is keen to get the bill passed in the Winter session to facilitate its roll-out in April next year. With repeated adjournments in both Houses due to protests by the Congress-led Opposition over various matters, including the National Herald case, the government has not been able to push through its legislative agenda, the report said.
Following the meeting, Jaitley posted a blog on Facebook where he indirectly hit out at the Congress for the Parliament logjam. Jaitley quoted parts of a speech made by former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on the last day of the first Lok Sabha in 1957, where he spoke of the importance of a functioning Parliament. Jaitley wrote, "Those who claim the legacy of Pandit ji must ask themselves the question, what kind of history are they making."