Now, executive route to reforms

Prime minister Manmohan Singh is likely to call on President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday to request him to accept the resignations of Trinamool Congress ministers and to seek time for the swearing in of new ministers in a cabinet reshuffle, sources in the PMO said on Thursday.

Knowing well that his fast forwarding of reforms will throw the Parliament session out of gear, the PM is believed to have suggested ministers to explore the administrative route of carrying out as many decisions as possible through gazette notifications.

The government, meanwhile, hit back at Mamata Banerjee for dragging President Pranab Mukherjee into the FDI row. The Trinamool leader reminded Mukherjee of the assurance he gave to the Lok Sabha on December 7, when he was the finance minister, that any decision on FDI in multi-brand retail would be implemented only after a political consensus was reached.

The government said consensus does not mean unanimity, more so when the final decision of allowing any foreign companies has been left in the hands of the chief ministers.

Meanwhile, the group of ministers (GoM) on media held a strategic session on Thursday and decided that everything that had to be said on the FDI has been said. Chidambaram, who chaired the meeting, brushed aside the question of the government coming into minority, pointing out that it had friends yesterday and has friends today to carry on the business without any brakes.

On a reconciliation coming from Trinamool leader Saugata Roy that Mamata may show "some considerations" if the government takes a "public position" on her demands, the officials in the prime minister's office said the government has already taken the position that there cannot be any rollback.