(PTI)
Reminiscent of India’s tryst with destiny at the midnight of 15 August 1947, Parliament’s historic Central Hall will host a function on the intervening night of 30 June-1 July to ring in the nation’s biggest tax reform—the goods and services tax (GST).
Announcing that the switchover to the GST will kick in at the stroke of midnight, finance minister Arun Jaitley said the hour-long function will mirror the contribution made by different political parties and states to the revolutionary new tax regime. The circular-shaped Central Hall had previously hosted a function that marked 50 years of Independence.
President Pranab Mukherjee, who had piloted the first Constitutional Amendment Bill to bring in GST in 2011 when he was finance minister with the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime, will share the dais with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion. Also on dais will be former prime ministers Manmohan Singh and H.D. Deve Gowda, apart from vice-president Hamid Ansari and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.
