NEW DELHI:
The Centre’s GST launch on the night of June 30 will be a sober, one-hour function, reminiscent of late night session that was held in Parliament in 1992 to commemorate 50 years of the Quit India movement and one to celebrate India’s 50 years of Independence when a special session of Parliament was held late night.
"The preparations for the
GST
launch are exactly like that — like we do for joint sessions," an
official said. "During the 50th and 60th years of celebrations we had
special sessions in Parliament with speeches and screenings of films.
Same will happen during the GST launch on June 30," the person said.
Parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar has written to all MPs
urging them to attend the function. His letter dated June 19 addressed
to all Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs calls the GST a shining example of
cooperative federalism best exemplified by the fact that all decisions
with regard to GST have been taken by consensus, including the decision
that tax administration would also be coordinated to achieve single
interface for taxpayers.
The letter says the presence of the PMs will enthuse the citizens of
the country towards GST and calls it the most significant economic
reform since independence.
"Since it is going to be held at midnight, the lighting had to be
worked out. We are expecting at least 600 of them. Also, members of the
GST Council, state government officials who were part of the decision,
have been asked to come," an official said.
"The launch will be done through a laptop. We have to ensure it is exactly at the stroke of midnight," he added.
While Congress has still not decided if its MPs will participate in
it, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury said not once ever before has a
midnight session been organised to commemorate an issue not connected
with India’s Independence.
Former Prime Ministers
Manmohan Singh and HD Deve Gowda will be on the podium when the launch happens.
Gowda said a midnight session to launch GST was different from the
earlier occasions. "The PM has himself taken the initiative to call us.
The whole country has supported the GST. Hence, I think I should be part
of the event," he said.
President
Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, Vice-President
Hamid Ansari, and Speaker of the Lok Sabha
Sumitra Mahajan will also grace the occasion.
Officials said PM Modi and Pranab Mukherjee will speak on GST after
which two short films that will be screened on GST will be screened.
23 Jun 2017, 08:52 AM