Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday met Congress president Sonia Gandhi and sought the party's cooperation for passing the Goods and Service Tax Bill. Naidu said that the Centre is willing to advance the Budget session of Parliament if all parties agree.
According to PTI, Gandhi and Naidu discussed the three main concerns raised by the Congress about the GST Bill. The report said Naidu informed Gandhi that the Congress party's suggestions had been considered by the central government.
The Centre was keen to get the bill passed in the Winter session of Parliament, which concluded in December, to facilitate its roll-out in April this year. However, the Congress-led Opposition forced repeated adjournments in both Houses over various matters, including the National Herald case.
The GST Bill is a key economic reform that the Bharatiya Janata Party has been pushing for. The bill will replace a number of taxes with a single tax, and is supported by several states as it is expected to increase revenue.
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