Soon after the meeting, Jaitley wrote an article hitting out at the Congress and reflecting his disappointment with Opposition party's approach in Parliament. Jaitley quoted Jawaharlal Nehru on the responsibility of being in Parliament and said "those who claim the legacy of Panditji must ask themselves the question, what kind of history are they making."
On a day when senior union ministers and Congress leaders met over a South Indian lunch, hopes further faded on the passage of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the Winter Session. This means the government's timeline to implement the key reform measure from April 1, 2016 has gone haywire.
As time runs out for GST with just seven sittings left of the Winter Session of Parliament and a washout in Rajya Sabha staring in government's face, finance minister Arun Jaitley and parliamentary affairs minister Venkaiah Naidu met Congress leader and deputy leader in Rajya Sabha– Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma. However, the two sides seemed to have failed to find a way out of the Parliament logjam and deadlock over GST.
All eyes are now on December 19, when Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi, along with five others appear before the metropolitan magistrate in Patiala House Court in the National Herald case. After that, just three days of the session would be left. But, the mood in the Congress is far from conciliatory as it alleges political vendetta and humiliation of its leaders. Party sources said the positive atmosphere in the beginning of the session, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh, has been washed out, by the subsequent moves of the government.
While officially it was said that Monday's talks was "inconclusive", they said there was no breakdown in communication, top sources in the Congress said there was a deadlock, as government has rejected one of their major demands of putting the tax cap in the Constitutional Amendment Bill. With the ball back in the Congress's court, it is keeping the government on tenterhooks saying it would have to consult other leaders including the party leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge. But many believe it was just a ruse, as the GST was stuck in Rajya Sabha and not in Lok Sabha.
Meanwhile, Congress's RS Surjewala compared international fuel prices and retail prices to say "with this track record of government .how can we believe, they will profit their coffers by taxing people, without putting a constitutional cap on GST," He said when the international oil prices have fallen to $36 per barrel and refinery price of petrol is only just Rs.23.70 per litre, it is sold at Rs.60.48 per litre (in Delhi). Modi government is earning a profit of Rs.36.71 for every litre of petrol and Rs.21.88 per litre in case of diesel. "How can we allow milking of consumers in the GST regime, the way they are being burdened by government heavy taxation on petroleum?" he asked.
Jaitley 'disappointed'
Soon after the meeting, Jaitley wrote an article hitting out at the Congress and reflecting his disappointment with Opposition party's approach in Parliament. Jaitley quoted Jawaharlal Nehru on the responsibility of being in Parliament and said "those who claim the legacy of Panditji must ask themselves the question, what kind of history are they making."
He said the current was also threatened with a wash out. "The reasons for the wash out of the current Session keep changing by the hour. The nation is waiting for the Parliament to discuss public issues, to legislate and approve a historic Constitution Amendment enabling the GST. All this is being indefinitely delayed. The question we need to ask ourselves is, are we being fair to ourselves and this country?"
Here is Jaitley's post:
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Jaitley")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}