New Delhi: Rare are the occasions when the Central Hall of Parliament hosts special sessions, rarer are the midnight sittings. The launch of Goods and Services Tax was one such occasion with Diwali-like lighting adorning Parliament House. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is known to be a perfectionist when it comes to such mega events.
Everything has to be minutely planned to suit the occasion. After Congress’s decision to boycott the launch, top ministers in the Modi Cabinet were designated responsibility to ensure a picture perfect launch of a tax reform which Modi equated with the unification of India right after Independence.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar and his junior colleagues Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and SS Ahluwalia reached the venue good two hours before the event to make sure everything was in place, from the white shawl and red rose for each guest to the ‘GST hamper’ which included a detailed explainer among other things.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also came in early. He was also busy reaching out to various opposition leaders in his personal capacity to ensure that each party sends its representative.
While Congress didn’t budge after its chief Sonia Gandhi’s clear stand, almost every other opposition party sent its representative. Despite divisions within the Samajwadi Party over attending the function, Ram Gopal Yadav came after Jaitley’s personal request.
Only a day before, Yadav’s 71st birthday was celebrated at a grand function in Etawah. In between Friday’s function in Parliament, Yadav complained of uneasiness and was escorted outside the Central Hall by Skill Development Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy. After a little while, Yadav returned and was requested by Naqvi to sit in the front row.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar was sitting in the front row and representatives of Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) and Mayawati’s BSP were also present in the hall.
Former Bengal finance minister Asim Dasgupta also attended the event even as his party remained absent. Former prime minister and JDS supremo HD Deve Gowda sat on the dais.
Karingozhakkal Mani, former Kerala FM and leader of Kerala Congress, also attended the event. Apart from sitting and former MPs, many BJP leaders and RSS ideologues were invited at the function, along with superstar Amitabh Bachchan, singer Lata Mangeshkar and business tycoon Ratan Tata.
Sitting next to power minister Piyush Goyal was RSS leader and Chartered Accountant Swaminathan Gurumurthy. During his speech, when PM Modi thanked bureaucrats for burning midnight oil to make GST a reality. Those sitting around revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia congratulated him.
While walking out, President Pranab Mukherjee shook hands with former finance minister Yashwant Sinha. FM Jaitley also mentioned Sinha’s contribution in his speech. Sinha headed standing committee during UPA-I, which had made important recommendations on GST.
Last but not the least, Ratan Tata was caught unawares when BJP MP Roopa Ganguly touched his feet to seek blessings, something common outside Parliament which Mr Tata may not be used to.
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