While opposition parties demanded a rollback, the government made it clear that it will not budge.
Parliament is still stuck in the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) logjam. A meeting between finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and the floor leaders of all parties on Tuesday morning did not yield much and both houses were adjourned following protests.
While opposition parties demanded a rollback, the government made it clear that it will not budge. Prime minister Manmohan Singh even justified the decision saying he firmly believed that allowing FDI in the retail sector would benefit the country. The decision was taken after careful consideration, he said.
Though Mukherjee and the floor leaders did not reach a consensus, the veteran crisis manager of the Congress told reporters after the meeting that an adjournment motion, as suggested by the opposition, might break the deadlock.
Tuesday was the sixth day in this winter session that went without any parliamentary work. Mukherjee told the leaders that the cabinet had decided on allowing FDI. So, he has to discuss the matter with the prime minister before he could give any commitment, he said.
Leader of the opposition Sushma Swaraj said the demand for a discussion through an adjournment motion that entails voting was “non-negotiable”.
But UPA floor managers indicated that they were not scared of voting. “We were even prepared for an adjournment motion on black money; so, numbers are not our concern,” a cabinet minister said.
UPA allies — the Trinamool Congress and the DMK — on Monday had made it clear that they did not support the government's decision. Even the SP and the BSP has demanded a rollback.
But Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi seemed unperturbed. “The criticism of the FDI decision by our allies is a different matter,” he said on Tuesday. “We know how to handle it. We will convince [them].”
Though Singhvi said this, the Congress top brass did not want to take chances, especially after Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee chief Ramesh Chennithala and Uttar Pradesh MP Sanjay Singh made their displeasure public. The party has called its MPs for a meeting today where Mukherjee will try to allay their apprehensions regarding the FDI.
At a youth Congress meeting in the evening, Singh said the Centre would not thrust its decision on the states. If state governments are not convinced about the benefits of FDI, they free to reject it, he said.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}