For GST consensus, Jaitley speaks to Congress, gets Nitish backing

Sources in the Congress said there was no structured meeting between Sharma and Jaitley, and the two only spoke briefly but on other issues.

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The Congress, sources said, had demanded significant changes to the Constitutional Amendment Bill, but was willing to discuss the government’s alternative options to mentioning the GST rate in the Constitution. A couple of options, according to experts working with the government on GST, are to mention the rate in the GST Bill that the Centre and states have to separately legislate or make it incumbent upon the GST Council to strongly recommend the least rate.

Meanwhile, Jaitley met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who has voiced his support for the GST. “We believe in GST and have favoured it since the beginning; it is for the welfare of the state and the country,” Nitish Kumar said after the meeting.

The Finance Minister also plans to travel to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to meet the TRS and TDP leadership. The government is counting on galvanising support from other parties and states. “The Centre has to talk to all states and parties,” a senior Congress leader said.

According to the Congress leader, formal discussions with the government will continue this week. “A draft is likely to be discussed over the next couple of days,” the leader said.