GST roll-out may be delayed, Jaitley says
The Narendra Modi-led government will not call for a special session of Parliament to discuss the Goods and Services Tax Bill, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Wednesday. Jaitley said that the decision to prorogue the Monsoon session of Parliament was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs. Saying that the roll-out of the GST was likely to be delayed, Jaitley accused the Congress of refusing to cooperate with the government on the matter. The opposition party had said on Tuesday that it would not allow the bill to pass unless amendments it was proposing were accepted by the National Democratic Alliance government. The bill, which needs to be passed by both Houses of the Parliament, also needs the approval of at least 50% of state legislatures.
PAC mulls making CAG accountablility
The Public Accounts Committee of Parliament is considering recommending a Constitutional amendment to make the Comptroller and Auditor General of India accountable to the legislature. Bharatiya Janata Party MP and PAC member Nishikant Dubey on Wednesday said that the CAG needed to be “part of the legislature” as was the case in countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia. Saying that the CAG also needed to be “answerable to someone”, Dubey said that the committee was likely to recommend amending the 1971 Act that governs the body. However, experts have said that the move is likely to result in debates on the Constitutional autonomy accorded to the CAG. “Tomorrow they may want the Election Commission to report to Parliament,” a former CAG said.
Drug trafficking a ‘threat to national security'
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said that drug trafficking was a “threat to national security” because of India’s proximity to major opium-growing areas in the region. Warning that terror groups were involved in drug trafficking, Singh called for synchronising international and domestic laws to intensify the global push against narcotic-smuggling networks.
Ex-servicemen’s OROP umbrella organisation splits
The umbrella organisation coordinating ex-servicemen’s agitations for the implementation of the One Rank One Pension scheme split on Wednesday after the Indian Ex-Servicemen League withdrew from the body. The President of the League, Lieutenant-General (Retired) Balbir Singh, said that the group had determined that the United Front of Ex-Servicemen Movement was “no longer cohesive”. Singh further said that the movement for pensions had become politicised as the United Front was planning a rally in Bihar, where elections to the state’s legislature will take place next month.
Supreme Court issues notices on acid attacks
The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued show-cause notices to four states over their failure to file responses to its directions on the rehabilitation of acid-attack victims. The notices, issued to Kerala, Karnataka, Mizoram and Madhya Pradesh, asked the states to explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them even though they were given sufficient time to file their responses. In its earlier directions, the apex court had asked all states to take steps to rehabilitate victims of acid attacks, including ordering private hospitals to provide free treatment to victims.
The Narendra Modi-led government will not call for a special session of Parliament to discuss the Goods and Services Tax Bill, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Wednesday. Jaitley said that the decision to prorogue the Monsoon session of Parliament was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs. Saying that the roll-out of the GST was likely to be delayed, Jaitley accused the Congress of refusing to cooperate with the government on the matter. The opposition party had said on Tuesday that it would not allow the bill to pass unless amendments it was proposing were accepted by the National Democratic Alliance government. The bill, which needs to be passed by both Houses of the Parliament, also needs the approval of at least 50% of state legislatures.
PAC mulls making CAG accountablility
The Public Accounts Committee of Parliament is considering recommending a Constitutional amendment to make the Comptroller and Auditor General of India accountable to the legislature. Bharatiya Janata Party MP and PAC member Nishikant Dubey on Wednesday said that the CAG needed to be “part of the legislature” as was the case in countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia. Saying that the CAG also needed to be “answerable to someone”, Dubey said that the committee was likely to recommend amending the 1971 Act that governs the body. However, experts have said that the move is likely to result in debates on the Constitutional autonomy accorded to the CAG. “Tomorrow they may want the Election Commission to report to Parliament,” a former CAG said.
Drug trafficking a ‘threat to national security'
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said that drug trafficking was a “threat to national security” because of India’s proximity to major opium-growing areas in the region. Warning that terror groups were involved in drug trafficking, Singh called for synchronising international and domestic laws to intensify the global push against narcotic-smuggling networks.
Ex-servicemen’s OROP umbrella organisation splits
The umbrella organisation coordinating ex-servicemen’s agitations for the implementation of the One Rank One Pension scheme split on Wednesday after the Indian Ex-Servicemen League withdrew from the body. The President of the League, Lieutenant-General (Retired) Balbir Singh, said that the group had determined that the United Front of Ex-Servicemen Movement was “no longer cohesive”. Singh further said that the movement for pensions had become politicised as the United Front was planning a rally in Bihar, where elections to the state’s legislature will take place next month.
Supreme Court issues notices on acid attacks
The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued show-cause notices to four states over their failure to file responses to its directions on the rehabilitation of acid-attack victims. The notices, issued to Kerala, Karnataka, Mizoram and Madhya Pradesh, asked the states to explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them even though they were given sufficient time to file their responses. In its earlier directions, the apex court had asked all states to take steps to rehabilitate victims of acid attacks, including ordering private hospitals to provide free treatment to victims.
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