New Minister of State for Finance Arjun Meghwal seems to be on the same page as his immediate boss, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, when it comes to the passage of the constitutional amendment to the goods and service tax (GST) Bill in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament.
“If the Opposition has some suggestions or reservations (regarding GST), we are ready to discuss those, except putting the rate in the Constitution. That is not a practical suggestion. If in the future the government decides that the rates need to be changed, then we will have to amend the Constitution again,”
Meghwal told Business Standard on Friday, days after assuming his new post. “We want the passage of the constitutional amendment to GST in the monsoon session.”
Meghwal is also the new minister of state for corporate affairs.
Over the past many months, the differences between the government and the principal Opposition, the Congress, had reduced. The Congress has been demanding that the GST rate be made a part of the Constitution Amendment Bill. Jaitley had made it clear that the government would not concede to this demand.
“When it comes to GST, outside the Parliament, everyone says that they are in favour of GST. The moment they enter Parliament, they start opposing it. This politics that has been going on over this crucial tax reform needs to stop. It will be a growth engine of the country. There should be no politics over it,” Meghwal said.
Meghwal is a two-time Member of Parliament in Lok Sabha from the Bikaner constituency. He was promoted from the Rajasthan Administrative Service to Indian Administrative Service (Rajasthan cadre) in 1999, when he was 46 years old.
A Dalit, Meghwal hails from a family of weavers and is known as a tenacious Parliamentarian. He was awarded the best Parliamentarian in 2013. He is known to raise issues and actively participate in debates, something which will hold him in good stead while backing up Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in discussions in the upcoming sessions of Parliament.
Meghwal is known to espouse environment-friendly policies and has eschewed the official transportation provided to him by the government. He cycles to Parliament and did so to Rashtrapati Bhawan for his swearing in on Tuesday.
When asked what his immediate aims were, Meghwal said: “The government’s schemes should be reaching, as the late Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya had envisioned, the last person in the village, the poorest of the poor. We will do proper monitoring of the schemes and the optimum utilisation of the funds. That is my main objective. Our economy is growing at 7.9 per cent. My second aim is that we want it to grow further and reach double digits.”
Business Standard, New Delhi, 09 July 2016
“If the Opposition has some suggestions or reservations (regarding GST), we are ready to discuss those, except putting the rate in the Constitution. That is not a practical suggestion. If in the future the government decides that the rates need to be changed, then we will have to amend the Constitution again,”
Meghwal told Business Standard on Friday, days after assuming his new post. “We want the passage of the constitutional amendment to GST in the monsoon session.”
Meghwal is also the new minister of state for corporate affairs.
Over the past many months, the differences between the government and the principal Opposition, the Congress, had reduced. The Congress has been demanding that the GST rate be made a part of the Constitution Amendment Bill. Jaitley had made it clear that the government would not concede to this demand.
“When it comes to GST, outside the Parliament, everyone says that they are in favour of GST. The moment they enter Parliament, they start opposing it. This politics that has been going on over this crucial tax reform needs to stop. It will be a growth engine of the country. There should be no politics over it,” Meghwal said.
Meghwal is a two-time Member of Parliament in Lok Sabha from the Bikaner constituency. He was promoted from the Rajasthan Administrative Service to Indian Administrative Service (Rajasthan cadre) in 1999, when he was 46 years old.
A Dalit, Meghwal hails from a family of weavers and is known as a tenacious Parliamentarian. He was awarded the best Parliamentarian in 2013. He is known to raise issues and actively participate in debates, something which will hold him in good stead while backing up Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in discussions in the upcoming sessions of Parliament.
Meghwal is known to espouse environment-friendly policies and has eschewed the official transportation provided to him by the government. He cycles to Parliament and did so to Rashtrapati Bhawan for his swearing in on Tuesday.
When asked what his immediate aims were, Meghwal said: “The government’s schemes should be reaching, as the late Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya had envisioned, the last person in the village, the poorest of the poor. We will do proper monitoring of the schemes and the optimum utilisation of the funds. That is my main objective. Our economy is growing at 7.9 per cent. My second aim is that we want it to grow further and reach double digits.”
Business Standard, New Delhi, 09 July 2016
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