Govt & Congress should get on with GST Bill: Derek O'Brien

Everybody is hoping that the Goods and Services Tax bill gets passed in this monsoon session of the parliament which kicked off from Monday. However, the big question is, will the Rajya Sabha be able to pass the GST Bill? Former Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu is very upbeat about the GST Bill crossing the Rajya Sabha hurdle this session. Also, the Trinamool Congress party has consistently been in favour of the passage of GST.Derek O'Brien, MP, Rajya Sabha and TMC spokesperson speaking to CNBC-TV18’s Shereen Bhan said for the sake of the country, it is very important for the Congress party and the government to get their act together and pass the GST Bill. They have 20 days to do so, he said.He said they would appeal to the government and the Congress to sort out the issues and get on with it. According to him, along with TMC many other regional parties have been consistent in their stance for the passage of GST Bill.Below is the verbatim transcript of Derek O Brien’s interview to Shereen Bhan on CNBC-TV18. Q: The Former Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu in his chat with me has said that options are open to talk it out or walk it out but not break it out. So as far as the goods and services tax (GST) is concerned, do you feel more hopeful that this finally is going to be the session where we are going to see a breakthrough? A: I have often said this before that when the BJP was in opposition, they were blocking GST. Now the Congress has come into opposition, now they have begun blocking GST but it is for those of us who are sitting in the middle who have been the most consistent. I think the Congress and the BJP both need to get their act together. There is 20 days to go, there are only 20 days in parliament so there are certain issues which they need to sort out. Tamil Nadu had an issue, we had raised some issues in the joint parliamentary committee which I can’t speak about here on television but I think if the Congress and BJP, both get their act together, obviously we want the GST to pass so that it is implemented as soon as possible. Q: There was a meeting on Friday and there is another meeting tomorrow between the Finance Minister as well as the Congress party to try and break the deadlock on Goods and Services Tax (GST), what is the sense that you get. Your Finance Minister in West Bengal Dr. Amit Mitra is heading the empowered panel of state finance ministers on the meeting. There was a meeting that he held in Kolkata to break the impasse. So, do you get a sense also on the back of what Dr. Mitra has been able to achieve at the state FM\\'s level that possibility of the GST going through this session is higher? A: I keep saying this before every session. If you ask me this question I keep saying, yes, there is a possibility. But the possibility has to become a reality. And there is actually a third angle to this with all due respect to the bureaucracy. Because the bureaucracy also has to be in a mood to pass this. Like one of the sticking point which may not be in the bill but will certainly come into the rules is this Rs 1.5 crore cap. That means below Rs 1.5 crore that will be handled by the states. And only when the figure crosses Rs 1.5 crore it should be handled by the dual control of the centre and the states. So, these are also sticky issues of the level of the bureaucracy but the Trinamool Congress and there are many parties who share our view we have some basic issues. One in fact my understanding is that the AIDMK from Tamil Nadu also has the same view that even to give the money back to compensate the states there was again a grey area there about may and will. My understanding is - at least unofficially - that this has been sorted out, it will not be may, it will absolutely be clear that the minimum will be five years. So, there is very broad agreement and we have discussed this for very long and if you are very serious about implementing this as I said it is okay to have meetings between the Congress and BJP but the Congress and the BJP it you add up the numbers comes to about half the number in Rajya Sabha. What about the rest of us parties, the rest of us parties be it the SP, BSP, JDU, the Trinamool, the AIADMK, the DMK, the NCP, we sit in the middle. We have been most consistent on our views on GST. So, now obviously our appeal to the government and the Congress is sort it out and let us get on. Q: I know that the TMC has been consistent in its position on the GST but let us talk about the arithmetic. The Finance Minister speaking to me had said that enough is enough, we would like to get the Congress party on board but if we don’t, we will go ahead in any case. Is that political bravado or do you believe that the numbers are in fact in favour now of the government to be able to push it through if it were to come to that? A: The only confirmed, consistent loser in all this, there are 235 members in the Rajya Sabha, the only confirmed, consistent loser will be the Communist Party of India (Marxist). The Communist Party, they will as often either be in electoral politics or be it in legislation, they are often on the losing side. So, they will be left standing alone or standing alone perhaps is the wrong impression, sitting alone. They have eight or nine MPs in Rajya Sabha, then the Congress. However, I am not the floor manager for this government. I am the Trinamool Congress Spokesperson so why am I bothered. All we want is that for the sake of the country, for the sake of the nation, get your act together Congress and BJP and let us have GST.