NEW DELHI: The "monsoon" session of the Rajya Sabha ended before lunch on Thursday without the passage of a major tax reform bill, after opposition protests that prevented the house from functioning every day of the three-week sitting.
Opposition MPs Walkout of Lok Sabha They raised a variety of issues, including seeking the Prime Minister's reply to the charges against Union Minister Sushma Swaraj and two Chief Ministers over the Lalit Modi and Vyapam controversies. |
The proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) is the biggest tax overhaul since independence from Britain in 1947. It will subsume myriads of federal and state tax levies, replacing a chaotic structure that inflates costs.
The delay in passing the law will make it difficult for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to meet a self-imposed deadline of next April for its launch.