LS sets aside political wrangling to pass GST with 443 "ayes" and no "noes"

Lok Sabha would have rarely witnessed a debate almost bereft of political sparring, as it did on Monday when it took up the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill.

The proceedings went as per the script– unusual in a House where sparks fly unexpectedly, disrupting the timeline. As expected, the Bill was passed unanimously, along with amendments made by Rajya Sabha, amidst a walkout by the AIADMK.

Unlike in Rajya Sabha, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi's absence was castigated by the Congress, in the Lower House he was not only present when the debate began but also spoke. Modi, a member of Lok Sabha, was present when finance minister Arun Jaitley made his opening remarks. He heard Congress leader Veerappa Moily and was seen applauding both sides.

Moily alleged that the government had treated the Lok Sabha as a junior partner by "discussing the matter only with members of the upper House." He also sought leniency in tax collection saying it should be like a bee which sucks just as much honey as needed. Modi later responded to his comments by recalling that he had held consultations with Congress leaders from both houses– Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh– and given them equal importance.

The Prime Minister's presence in the House immediately after lunch when the debate began had ensured high attendance on the treasury benches. As he left after Moily spoke, several members started leaving. Government floor managers, however, were present throughout the debate ensuring that the debate went off smoothly without disruption.

BJP leader Sushil Modi, who had headed the GST panel as Bihar deputy chief minister and finance minister, watched the proceedings sitting in the Speaker's gallery.

If there were political insinuations, these were subtle and far between. The sharpest one was from Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, who made his speech in presence of the Prime Minister, who was back in the House.

Kharge emphasised that former Congress finance ministers–P Chidambaram and Pranab Mukherjee– had tried to pass the bill. He asked why the then leaders of Opposition– Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj– opposed it.

"If you had agreed with us, this bill would have been passed two years ago and it would have improved the economy. You stalled the bill. But the finance minister said Congress was obstructing progress," he said. Kharge also recalled Gujarat's resistance to GST when Modi was chief minister.

Later, while intervening, Modi said his experience as chief minister had helped him understand better the concerns of states.

While barring the AIADMK, all parties expressed support for the bill, ruling parties from Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal sought special status for their states. Several opposition members also sought an assurance from the government that the GST bills will not be brought as money bills.

"We request the Prime Minister to acknowledge states are cooperative and extend your hand of cooperation for our needs.... We want a special package for West Bengal," said TMC's Kalyan Banerjee.

TDP's Ravindra Babu said special status for Andhra Pradesh has become an emotive issue. "We support GST, but when we go home we are asked why we agreed to back the bill without getting special status for the state," he said.

BJD's Thatagata Satpathy resented that the states would lose right to levy taxes. "Why dont you have a system where tax is collected by states and sent to Centre?"

Speaking on similar lines, CPM's Karunanakaran also expressed concerns about states' not having the liberty to levy taxes. He said the Kerala government had imposed a health tax, which had come in for appreciation even internationally, but it would now have to go.

The BJP, meanwhile, gave an opportunity to some of its back benchers to speak on GST.