Land Bill to go to joint committee, GST to Rajya Sabha

The controversial Land Acquisition Bill will be referred to a joint committee of both Houses of the Parliament on Tuesday, while the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill will be referred to a select committee of the Rajya Sabha.

A 30-member joint committee will be set up to look into the land bill and will be headed by Darjeeling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP S.S. Ahluwalia. The committee will have 20 members from the Lok Sabha and 10 members from the Rajya Sabha.

Opposition parties are persistently objecting to the Land Bill, dubbing the legislation as ‘anti-farmer’ and the Prime Minister Modi led-Government has apprehensions over its passage in the Rajya Sabha, where it is in minority.

Meanwhile, the GST Bill is also expected to be sent to a select committee of the Rajya Sabha. The select committee on GST could have either 15 or 21 members.

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) is the only party to oppose the GST Bill, while the Congress insists that it should be sent to a select committee to examine the changes brought in it by the NDA regime.

The GST Bill seeks to create a comprehensive new indirect tax regime to levy taxes on manufacture, sale and consumption of goods as well as services at the national level.

Earlier this week, the GST Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha.