Just two days left for the Monsoon session of Parliament to end and it seems unlikely that the government will able to pass the much-awaited Goods and Services Tax Bill in this session.
Amidst uproar by opposition parties, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday introduced the GST Bill in the Rajya Sabha. However, discussions could not be held on the same due to the pandemonium forcing the Speaker to adjourn of the House for the day.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi has told her MPs that they must not budge from the party's stance-- on not allowing house to function over the row surrounding former Indian Premier League chief Lalit Modi and Vyapam scam.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has issued a whip to all its MPs asking them to attend both houses on Wednesday. This is the last push by the Narendra Modi government to pass the Bill before the end of a stormy Parliament session.
Aimed at creating a customs union for India, the Goods and Service Tax (GST) is a major tax reform aimed at boosting economic growth. Supporters say it will add up to two percentage points to economic growth.
A series of obstacles to the prime minister's ambitious agenda of economic reform has increased a sense among debt-laden domestic companies suffering subdued earnings that India's fledgling economic recovery could take longer.
"They don't want the Indian economy to grow," Jaitley said, barely audible above opposition shouts of "this will not go on". He called the protest "merely a pretext".
Congress is not allowing Parliament to function over its demands of resignation of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. It is also seeking changes to the bill, which it claims has been diluted to win support from states.
Congress leader Anand Sharma said the obstruction replicated tactics by the BJP, which blocked GST and other reforms when Congress led United Progress Alliance government was in power.
Failure to pass the GST Bill now will make it hard for Modi to meet a self-imposed 2016 deadline for implementing it.
The government has already passed the bill in the Lok Sabha. However, it is still pending in Rajya Sabha where it does not have a majority. Two-thirds of votes are needed to pass the amendment in the Rajya Sabha which is only possible if most parties support it, or if Congress abstains.
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