Union Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said the country's judiciary had been encroaching on legislative and executive authority, reported The Indian Express. Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, the finance minister urged the legislators to refrain from handing over budgetary and taxation powers to the judiciary.
Jaitley made this remark while replying to opposition Congress' demand for a dispute redressal mechanism under which a judge would resolve any dispute between the Centre and states on Goods and Services Tax. He said it would be a mistake for any political party to suggest that the taxation power, which is a political issue, should also be handed over to the judiciary. Speaking about the Appropriation (No. 2) Bill 2016 and the Finance Bill, 2016, Jaitley said, “Step by step, brick by brick, the edifice of India’s legislature is being destroyed.”
While the Congress leaders once again raised their objection in the House to the GST Bill, saying that they will support the Bill only if their suggestions are accepted, the ruling party stuck to its stand and punched holes in the recommendations. Jaitley said the government plans to take up the Bill again in the monsoon session of Parliament.
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