Amidst looming fears of the monsoon session being washed out completely, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley expressed the hope that the Constitutional Amendment Bill for GST and Land Bill would get passed in the forthcoming session.
“We hope that no political party will take an anti-developmental stand (during the session),” Jaitley said when asked about the fate of the GST and Land Bill. He was briefing media on Cabinet decisions here on Thursday. The Opposition has mounted a demand for the resignation of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje after their role in the Lalit Modi episode became public.
Opposition parties also want Human Resources Minister Smriti Irani to go after a Delhi Court admitted a petition challenging her declaration on educational qualifications, made in an election affidavit. Although the BJP has rejected the demand for resignation of these leaders, the Opposition has made it clear that this would have an impact on the forthcoming session of Parliament.
Jaitley also said his Government does not want to give any importance to Lalit Modi. “Some people give relevance to TV channels but not the Government,” he said when asked about the former Indian Premier League Commissioner making revelations about prominent leaders on a daily basis. Earlier, Home Minister Rajnath Singh backed these leaders and said they would not resign
All this means that the forthcoming session of Parliament, starting on July 21, will see a relentless attack from the Opposition, which, in turn, will affect the prospects of key legislations such as land and GST being passed in the session. Currently, the Land Bill is with the joint panel and it is expected to give its report by the time the forthcoming session opens. Similarly, the Constitution Amendment Bill for GST is with the select panel, which is expected to give its report before the session itself. Still, if there is pandemonium in the Rajya Sabha (where the Government is in minority), then submission is not going to help the Government. The land bill is already facing tough resistance from many political parties.
Apart from these two, the other pending bills include the amendments to the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, the Railways (Amendment) Bill, the Waterways Bill, the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, and the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Bill, 2015, besides others. The Government will also require enactment of a new law to replace the Negotiable Instrument Ordinance in the forthcoming session.