PM likely to call all-party meet tomorrow on FDI issue

With the political opposition over FDI in retail gathering momentum, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday held consultations with Congress President Sonia Gandhi and is likely to call an all-party meeting on Tuesday to resolve the deadlock in Parliament.

Singh held consultations with Gandhi soon after the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha adjourned for the second day on the FDI issue.

Gandhi's meeting with the Prime Minister assumes significance as she is also UPA chairperson and key alliance partners Trinamool Congress and DMK have demanded rollback of the Union Cabinet decision allowing FDI in retail.

It also wants consultations within the UPA before taking major policy decisions.

DMK has termed the decision as "dangerous" and demanded that the decision be withdrawn forthwith.

Party Chief M Karunanidhi said, "The Centre's insistence that states should go by the decision cannot be justified. DMK had opposed FDI in retail trade even when the idea was originally mooted".

Government sources said moves were afoot to call an all-party meeting tomorrow in a bid to break the deadlock over the issue which saw Congress ally Trinamool Congress joining the united opposition in demanding cancellation of the Cabinet decision on allowing FDI in retail.

The BJP-led NDA has already declared that it would not allow Parliament to function till government withdraws the decision on FDI in retail.

The BJP and the Left parties were among several who had given adjournment motion notices in Lok Sabha today.