Srinagar: The government is likely to hold only a single session of Assembly on GST and will defer the session till a complete consensus emerges on extension of central Goods and Services Tax to the state.
The government held a meeting with all party members here in Legislative Assembly about the convening of the special session. Senior leaders of National Conference, Congress and independent MLA from Khansahib, Hakeem Yasin.
Sources said that the meeting discussed the incoming session and the opposition leaders asked the government to postpone the session.
Local news gathering agency KNS quoted sources as saying that the government conveyed to the members that only a single session will be held on GST and the proceedings will be deferred till Eid and a consensus emerges on extension of GST.
The meeting was attended by PDP senior leader and Parliamentary Affairs minister, A R Veeri, Law Minister Abdul Haq Khan, NC leader and MLA Khanyar Ali Muhammad Sagar, senior leader and MLA from Kangan, Mian Altaf, Congress legislators, Aijaz Ahmad Khan and Viqar Rasool.
“A single session, which will be obituary session, will be held on 17th of this month. The Speaker will announce postponement of the session till Eid,” sources said.
Sources said that Business Advisory Committee, comprising of nine members including Speaker LA Kavinder Gupta, Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh, chief whips of NC, Congress and ruling parties, will meet at 10 in the morning on 17 and will take a decision on the session.
The BAC will discuss business and calendar of the session which will be held after Eid, sources said.
Sources said that secretary Assembly M. R. Singh has issued summon for holding of the session.
Meanwhile, National Conference which attended the meeting said that the party’s stand is clear that financial powers should remain with the state.
“National Conference has explained its objections and apprehensions before the government in All Party Meeting. We don’t want any central law directly applied to the state which will erode our special status in Constitution of India,” NC General Secretary and MLA Khanyar Ali Mohammad Sagar said after attending the meeting in Legislative Assembly.
“Our state has fiscal and constitutional autonomy through which we can impose both Goods and Services Tax in the state. No other state can impose Services tax. Our power to impose such taxes will go away if we directly extend central GST to the state,” Sagar said.
“In the meeting today, we again made it clear that government has no clear agenda about GST. The government is speaking in different tones. Veeri sahab said today that Special Assembly session on GST will be deferred as only obituary session will be held on 17th of this month. But Speaker yesterday said that a four-day session will be held on GST,” he said.
