Finance Minister Arun Jaitley moves the Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill in the Rajya Sabha
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley introduced the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill in the Rajya Sabha today, and in a stinging attack, accused the Congress of stalling the country's progress. "The Congress does not want the economy to grow," he said.
Here are the 10 latest developments from Parliament:
"Everybody wants this bill to pass, the Congress should categorically say they are against it," Mr Jaitley challenged the main opposition party. The House was adjourned for the day minutes later amid noisy protests from the Congress.
The monsoon session ends on Thursday, but the Congress is determined not to let Parliament address its agenda, including key legislation like the GST Bill.
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi has told her lawmakers to continue with noisy disruptions, demanding the removal of three BJP leaders enveloped in controversies.
The government's focus is on pushing through the GST Bill which will enable one national sales tax to replace a matrix of existing levies. Its plan to introduce the new tax from April 1 next year is in jeopardy unless the reform clears Parliament in this session.
The Lok Sabha has already cleared the proposal - the government is in a huge majority there. In the Upper House or Rajya Sabha, however, the government and its allies do not have the numbers to manage the passage of the bill.
The PM had a lunch meeting recently with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to win her support and promised amendments to the bill that her party wants. Her AIADMK has 11 members in the Rajya Sabha.
The government is also wooing parties like the Trinamool Congress, the Samajwadi Party, the Janata Dal (United) and the Biju Janata Dal, all of which are said to favour the bill since GST is expected to benefit states where they are in power, where manufacturing is limited but consumption is high.
At a meeting of BJP lawmakers today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attacked the Congress saying, "Some people are misusing Parliament to stop the pace of the country's growth."
The Congress hit back, with its Anand Sharma saying that the "Government is trying to mislead the people by saying we are opposed to GST," adding that the "PM is neither sincere nor serious about the functioning of the House."
The Congress wants changes to the bill, which it says must be more "simple and comprehensive". The Left parties oppose it outright.
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