GST bill: Govt will leave no stone unturned, says Venkaiah Naidu

Bengaluru, Feb 2: Government would leave no stone "unturned" to get the long-awaited GST bill passed in the budget session of Parliament which would begin after February 20, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu said on Tuesday, Feb 2.

Naidu said he hoped that Parliament functions "smoothly" to get important bills, including the Goods and Services Tax (GST), approved, and for this, the government was in "regular touch" with different parties.

"We need to pass GST bill.If we pass GST, it will revolutionise taxation system and according to experts, it will increase our revenue by 1.5 to 2 per cent. It is a very vital reform that is needed in the taxation structure," he told reporters here.

"We will make every effort to get it passed this time... No stone will be left unturned," he said, adding that the government was in regular touch with different parties. Referring to a recent meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his predecessor Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi over the matter, the Minister said, "We have tried to understand what are their concerns. We have tried to address those concerns also."

"There is tremendous public opinion building up across the country in favour of GST.I hope other parties will realise the importance of GST and support," he said.

Naidu said the government was also looking forward to the clearing of bills on real estate development and regulation and bankruptcy.

"I appeal to all parties, including major opposition party Congress, please see reason and support this bill so that we can bring forward, country and states can prosper," he said.

He said a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA) had been called on February 4 to discuss about the budget session.

Referring to reports that dates had been fixed for the session, he said, "Nothing has been fixed till now...I can tell you that Parliament session will start after 20th (February) only, that much is clear."

Clarifying on media reports about him having called an "all-party meeting" regarding the schedule for the budget session, he said it was an informal meeting with leaders of some political parties in states where polls are slated soon.

"Taking the views of those parties who have large presence in those states is important. So I informally called them to take their views in order to finalise the schedule of the budget session," he added.

PTI