After poaching 5 of Congress' Tripura MLAs, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Tuesday, added insult to the injury of the grand old party by throwing a lifeline to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill making it clear that she will stand by it, in its current form. Calling it a "positive tax proposal", she instructed Amit Mitra, State Finance Minister and Chairman of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on GST, to ensure passage of the Bill "soon". Speaking at a felicitation ceremony organised by the various Chambers of Commerce, Banerjee told Mitra: "GST is long pending. Within the next two meetings ensure its passage. Build a consensus and do it." The BJP-led government had originally planned to pass the GST Bill in Parliament in April, converting 29 States into a single market. But the deadline was missed as the Bill failed to clear the Rajya Sabha. Opposition to the Bill has come primarily from the Congress, which has sought a cap on the rate of goods and services tax, removal of the proposed levy on inter-State trade, and the establishment of an independent dispute resolution mechanism. The Congress had first proposed the GST in 2006.