New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made a fresh pitch for political consensus around the early passage of a constitutional amendment bill that will enable the rollout of the goods and services tax (GST).

But his speech in the Rajya Sabha—part of the motion of thanks to President Pranab Mukherjee’s address to both houses of Parliament at the beginning of the budget session—was hyper critical of the Congress and other opposition parties and could potentially trigger a sharp reaction, undoing any efforts to generate consensus.

In his speech, which stayed on the pro-poor theme evident in the 2016 Union budget, Modi told members of the Rajya Sabha that the next round of economic reforms was awaiting their consent.

“The country is awaiting the goods and services tax. Lok Sabha has accepted it, but the bill is pending in the Rajya Sabha. The upper house should give vision to the country and pending bills should be cleared to push forward reforms," the prime minister said.

The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has just 64 members of Parliament (MPs) in the upper house and needs the support of the Congress party, which has 66 MPs, for the passage of the GST bill.

The bill has been opposed by the Congress, the Left parties and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (AIADMK).

“Let us pass those bills, passed in the Lok Sabha, as soon as possible and give impetus to India’s progress. This is a chamber of ideas, and it must guide the nation. A coordination between both houses is essential," said Modi, while pointing out that the upper house had conducted business successfully so far in the budget session.

With just four working days left in the first half of the budget session, the government is keen to pass at least two crucial bills—the GST and the real estate legislations.

However, a lot will depend on how the Congress reacts to the prime minister’s speech in which he sought to distinguish the party from the rest of the opposition.

“When we criticize the Congress, it is reported as criticism of the opposition, not criticism of the Congress. Congress never gets a bad name. If we criticize Janata Dal (United) and Bahujan Samaj Party, it is never said that BJP criticized the opposition," said the prime minister.

Modi argued that the NDA is working with a focus on good governance, which includes accountability, decentralization and an effective delivery system.

“During the previous government, corruption and (the rule of a) dynasty had impacted the image of the country abroad. But our government is policy-driven and doesn’t work on the whims of any individual," Modi said.

The prime minister also said that the government is working with the objective of doubling the income of farmers in the country by 2022.

An analyst said that Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) should do more to build bridges with the opposition.

“Passage of key bills is crucial, and since the NDA is in a minority in Rajya Sabha, the BJP leadership, including the prime minister, must initiate a dialogue with the opposition. Confrontation will only hurt the country and the BJP because people will ultimately blame the NDA for not being able to take the opposition on board," said A.K. Verma, a Kanpur-based political analyst and political science professor at Christ Church College.

Later on Wednesday, the government suffered an embarrassment when the Rajya Sabha adopted the motion of thanks to the President’s address with an amendment moved by the leader of the opposition in the upper house, veteran Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad. Ninety-four members voted for the amendment and 61 against.

Azad’s amendment regretted that the President’s address did not support the right of all citizens to contest panchayat elections, in the backdrop of legislations in Rajasthan and Haryana fixing minimum educational qualifications to contest such polls.

Modi, in his speech, had urged the lawmakers to pass the motion without any amendments, keeping in mind the “respect of the office and vision" of the President.

The Congress party was critical of Modi’s address.

“(It is) the first time that a prime minister mentioned none of the important issues in the country during the motion of thanks to the President’s address," Azad told reporters, adding that the prime minister’s speech was “disappointing".

PTI contributed to this story.

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