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Government, Congress reach consensus one two points of GST

by IBNS 27 Nov 2015, 07:47 pm

New Delhi, Nov 28 (IBNS) In what could lead to breaking the ice over the Goods and Services Tax bill, consensus has reportedly been reached between the government and the Congress on two of three demands put forward by the opposition party, media reports said.

The headway was made during Friday's meeting convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the issue with Congress President Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over tea at his official residence. 

Reports, however,  said one bone of contention  remained as the government is unlikely to accept a demand by the Congress to change the composition and state quota in the GST council.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who was present at the meeting along with Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, said that both sides put forward their positions on GST and there is the possibility of more meetings in the future. Jaitley said that the leaders also discussed the smooth functioning of Parliament in the Winter Session during the meeting.

The government will now discuss the demands made by Congress which in turn will have its own internal discussions on what the government has said. There will be regular meetings between Naidu and Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Ghulam Nabi Azad in both houses throughout the Winter Session of Parliament.