The controversial decision on allowing 51% foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail in the November 24 cabinet meeting was taken without much discussion.
The controversial decision on allowing 51% foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail in the November 24 cabinet meeting was taken without much discussion, according to a reliable source.
“It looked like an orchestrated move. There was no discussion. The people who supported it spoke as if on cue. Prime minister Manmohan Singh did not speak. When the Trinamool Congress minister (Dinesh Trivedi) expressed his dissent, Pranab Mukherjee got angry and shouted him down saying that the decision was needed to tackle the economic situation,” the source said.
It looked like a class room and Mukherjee a schoolmaster, the source observed.
However, the mood of other cabinet ministers, including the senior ones as well as the younger ministers of state, who made their presence at information and broadcasting minister Ambika Soni’s residence on Friday evening was gung-ho. They were all only too ready to charge into battle and defend the government’s decision.
“We are personally committed to it,” one of them said with a broad smile. Another witty minister turned the acronym FDI as a description for the BJP, which is opposing it tooth and nail. The minister said the BJP was “frustrated, desperate and insular (FDI)”.
It was clear that the prime minister was the man behind the decision and Mukherjee was the most vocal spokesman for Singh. The source said that it was an abrupt decision and there was no debate about it either in the government or in the party.
When the TMC minister rose to walk out, commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma said that he spoke to TMC chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. But the TMC minister said that “I am a representative of the party and my leader and this is my party’s position”.
Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh did not question the wisdom of the decision but he said the timing was wrong, especially with regard to the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.
Congress party office bearers maintained a politically correct position. Speaking on condition of anonymity, they said there was no difference between the party and the government. The most vocal support came from new MPs like Sandeep Dikshit from East Delhi.
Dikshit asserted that FDI in retail would have no impact on the kirana shopkeepers because their spheres of operations are different from those of the big retailers.
He denied that the decision was a surprise. The party MPs have been briefed about it during the monsoon session, and there was supposed to have been a discussion in the Lok Sabha under Rule 193 because a Left MP gave notice for it. It did not happen due to disruptions that occurred because of Anna Hazare fast in August.
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