Govt reaches out to Congress over pending GST bill

The government once again sought support from the Congress for passage of the crucial GST bill, which is pending due to stiff resistance in the parliament.

Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, who earlier handled Parliamentary Affairs portfolio, called up Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and his deputy Anand Sharma to seek Congress' backing for passage of the crucial bill in the Monsoon session of Parliament starting July 18.

Government is desperate to reach out to the Congress party in a bid to enlist their support for the crucial tax reform legislation.

Speaking to the reporters on GST, Azad said, "Yes, we had talked."

Top Congress leaders had on Thursday deliberated on the strategy for the session with party president Sonia Gandhi at her residence where GST was also discussed.

Congress has been pressing for a GST cap of 18 per cent as part of the Constitutional Amendment bill with which the government is not in agreement.

Insiders say the demand has become a sticking point, but Congress may relent and agree to a cap in the statute and not as part of the Constitution bill.