The CPI (M) members seemed determined to thwart the bill, aimed at increasing the FDI limit in the insurance sector. As Minister of State for Finance P K Bansal rose to introduce the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008, CPI (M) member T K Rangarajan tried to grab the copy of the bill from him. An agitated-looking external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee pushed Rangarajan to protect Bansal. Another minister Meira Kumar rushed to shield Bansal, who introduced the bill.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah introduced the bill in the Upper House of Parliament. He said the proposed legislation is aimed at providing effective and corruption-free governance in the national capital.
The GST will replace more than a dozen levies central and state levies, including central excise duty, service tax and central sales tax as well as VAT on sale of goods and entry tax, to make movement of goods seamless across 1.3 billion market.
The Trinamool Congress, which has six members in the Rajya Sabha, said it will "strongly" oppose the provision and want the deletion of Part III of The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2011, which deals with setting up of Lokayuktas at the state level. "We have already submitted our amendments. We are going to press for it," Mukul Roy, Trinamool leader and minister of state for shipping, told reporters in New Delhi.
The government will table the Patents (Amendment) Bill in the winter session of Parliament, the Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said on Monday.
The Central government had earlier in the day introduced the bill in the Lok Sabha despite stiff opposition from the National Democratic Alliance.
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