Open to amendments in future once GST bill is passed: Rajnath Singh

New Delhi: With Congress and Left opposing the GST Bill, Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday appealed to all parties to lend support to the proposed legislation for its passage in Parliament, saying the government will be open to amendments in future.

"I appeal to all parties to support us in Parliament so that we can pass it. We are open to amendments of GST Bill in future as per suggestions of traders," he said addressing a conference of traders in New Delhi.

Singh said the government was trying its best to pass the GST Bill in Parliament but due to the continuous disruption of the House by the opposition, the effort has not been successful.

The GST Bill was passed by Lok Sabha but the Rajya Sabha is yet to pass it due to opposition of Congress, Left parties and AIADMK. These parties want changes in the Bill.

Terming retail traders as the backbone of country's economy, Singh said the government would not allow their interests to be affected by globalisation.

"Our traders are the backbone of our economy. I assure all retail traders on behalf of the government that we will not let anything impact retail trade despite globalisation," he said.

The Home Minister said the central government understands the difficulty faced by the retail traders and would do its best to resolve them as no one can undermine their importance.

"We were, are and will always be business friendly.You had demanded that there should be no FDI in multi-brand retail and we ensured that it does not happen," he said.

Singh said economies of India and China were providing impetus to world economy and the NDA government is doing its best to further improve country's economy.

"There was double digit inflation, fiscal deficit, current account deficit. But with your blessings, we can proudly claim that ever since Modi government took over we have managed to rein in all.

"Our international trade is now 2 trillion dollars. In five years, our trade will reach 5 trillion dollars.

"We will be successful in making India an economic super power," he said.