NEW DELHI: The Finance Minister Arun Jaitely informed the BJP Parliamentary party meeting on Tuesday that the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which would be rolled out on July 1, would be fully implemented across the country by September 15. The Lok Sabha would take up discussions of the four GST enabling bills on Wednesday for which a marathon nine hours has been reserved without any lunch break.
Sources said that the Lok Sabha would also not take up the Zero Hour during which the members raise urgent matters of importance for their respective constituencies to allow uninterrupted discussions on GST Bills, which were introduced by the Finance Minister in the House on Monday. Two days were given to the MPs to prepare for the discussions. The BJP MPs have been given thorough presentations on the key aspects of the four GST Bills to help them take part in the discussions effectively.
Meanwhile, the Parliamentary party meeting of the BJP congratulated the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving the Constitutional back up to the Other Backward Castes (OBC) Commission, which will have a chairman, vice-chairman and three members. Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ananth Kumar lauded the Prime Minister for seeking to get the Constitutional status to the OBC Commission. Sources said that the Parliamentary party meeting also congratulated the Prime Minister on former Union Minister for External Affairs and senior Congress leader SM Krishna joining the BJP. The meeting also noted that a number of senior Congress leaders have written letters to the Prime Minister lauding his leadership.
The Prime Minister, meanwhile, will continue to meet the BJP MPs from across the country at his residence over breakfast. “The Prime Minister will meet BJP MPs from Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana on March 29. He will meet BJP MPs from Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh on March 30 followed by the MPs from Jahrkhand, Odisha, and Telangana on March 31,” sources added.