The winter session of parliament got off to a predictably heated start with the government attacking Opposition on “misuse” of the word secularism but cozied up nicely with their political opponents for some swift and strategic compromise on its pet agendas – the Goods and Services tax (GST) bill, for starters. The GST bill is the most ambitious tax reform in India, post independence. It seeks to bring indirect taxes under one umbrella and the resistance to it is equally political and economic although signs of a thaw indicate that the Bill may well become law in some diluted form, not in its original avatar for sure.
India’s proposed sales tax should be set at less than 20 percent, the opposition Congress party said on Thursday, signalling a willingness to compromise as long as the government takes into account its concerns.
The BJP government is saying that it has 30 of the 32 political parties backing the GST Bill and “wants to take the Congress along.”
Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu claims that 30 parties want the bill cleared “as soon as possible.”
The comments by senior Congress leader Anand Sharma came as parliament opened its winter session, with a proposed goods and services tax (GST) topping the priorities of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
“The government should come up with structured proposals on GST,” Sharma, chief tax negotiator for Congress and its deputy leader in the upper house, told Reuters.
Congress first proposed the tax when it was in government, but political hostilities since Modi’s general election triumph 18 months ago have stalled the measure. It is intended to create a single market and boost commerce in India’s $2 trillion economy.
Now, after a defeat for Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party in Bihar state elections earlier this month and criticism of Congress for paralysing parliament, the two sides appear to be inching toward a compromise.
Congress lawmaker Shashi Tharoor said he was hopeful a consensus will now be reached with the government.
Asked whether he thought the bill would be passed in the current session, Tharoor said: “It will be rash to predict anything in the political environment … but having said that, on balance I would think so.”
The bill has passed the lower house of parliament but has been blocked in the upper house, where Modi’s coalition lacks a majority.
Congress would like to cap the rate of GST at less than 20 percent, scrap a proposed state levy and create an independent mechanism to resolve disputes on revenue sharing between states.
The government is trying to win over small regional parties to build the two-thirds majority required to pass a key constitutional enabling amendment. It needs to bring Congress round to be sure it can pass.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in a television interview on Wednesday night that the three demands by Congress had not been included in its original GST bill.
“GST was not our idea – it was a Congress idea, but it’s a good idea,” Jaitley told the NDTV news channel. “I hope the Congress sticks to the good it proposed rather than flaw it.”
Stormy start to winter session
The winter session of Parliament got off to a rocky start with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh going straight for the Opposition saying secularism is now the most “misused” word.
“The words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ were incorporated in the Preamble through the 42nd Amendment of the Constitution. We have no objection. Let bygone be bygone. BR Ambedkar had never thought the necessity to incorporate it in the Preamble as these two words were part of the Constitution. It is inbuilt in the Indian system,” he said amidst protests from Congress.
Countering his contention, Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge objected to the Home Minister’s remarks and said Ambedkar was also in favour of putting the word in the Preamble, but could not do so due to the prevailing situation then.
Sonia on BJP
Speaking after Rajnath Singh, Sonia took him head on: “People who have no faith in the Constitution, who have not contributed to its making, they are talking about it repeatedly, and are trying to appropriate it. There cannot be a bigger joke.”
Singh on “leaving the country”
Singh did not mention Aamir Khan by name but his target was obvious: “Ambedkar had to go through humiliation and barbs. But he controlled his emotions and presented an objective point of view on the Constitution. He never complained how he was being ignored and humiliated in India. He said he would stay in the country, keeping India’s values and culture in mind, to strengthen the nation. He never thought of leaving India for any other country.”
The Opposition met this with loud protests: “People feel like leaving the country because of you,” they hollered at Rajnath Singh.
Singh objected to the use of Hindi word ‘Dharma Nirpekshta’, saying the literal translation of the secularism should be ‘Panth Nirpekshta’ and it should be regularly used as it is the official Hindi translation of secularism.
“Secularism is the most misused word in the country. Its misuse should come to an end. Because of the rampant misuse of the word, there have been instances of tension in the society,” he said in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi besides others.
He added that it was difficult to maintain social harmony because of the “rampant misuse” of the word secularism.
The Home Minister also said the issue of reservation has been politicised and made it clear that quota was a constitutional provision and there was “no scope” for any further debate on the issue.
“Reservation is a socio-political necessity. Hence, there is a constitutional provision for it,” he said.
The remarks came weeks after RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat supported a review of the reservation system in the country. Top BJP leaders, during Bihar Assembly polls, repeatedly assured that the government would not do away with the present quota system.
Asserting the Modi government’s commitment towards the safety and security of every Indian, irrespective of caste, creed or religion, Singh said everyone born in India is Indian and all are brothers.
He said India was the only country where all 72 sects of Muslims lived and communities like Zoroastrian and Jews felt safe while facing persecution elsewhere.
Besides paying glowing tributes to Ambedkar, the Home Minister remembered the contribution of late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and late Home Minister Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel in nation building.
Lord Ram makes guest appearance
Singh termed Lord Ram as the greatest democrat saying he ordered his wife Sita to go ‘Agni Pariksha’ after someone raised the issue.
The Home Minister said the Prime Minister was inspired by the philosophy of Ambedkar and Constitution and launched schemes like ‘Jan Dhan Yojana’, ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’, ‘Beti Badhao, Beti Padho’.
His remarks linking the projects with Ambedkar’s vision invited strong reactions and jibes from Opposition benches.
When Singh said the government is working for reservation of 33 per cent jobs for women in paramilitary and state police forces, a member from the Congress asked why the Modi government was delaying the Constitution amendment bill to provide for one-third reservation for women in Lok Sabha and state Assemblies.
BJP national spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain accused the Congress of deliberately maligning India’s image in the world by giving a message that “intolerance” was prevailing in the country.
Hussain claimed Congress was running such a negative campaign when different nations of the world were backing India for its membership in United Nations Security Council. “Where is it (intolerance)? Is it more than during Narashima Rao’s regime? There used to be communal tension during former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi’s time. Now, there is communal harmony, which is not going down well with some persons.”