Govt puts FDI on hold with intention to bring it back later

While the opposition continues to demand a rollback, the government is not inclined to give a categorical assurance to that effect. Renu Mittal reports.

After an unwilling Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was virtually forced to backtrack his proposed FDI in retail policy initiative by Congress President Sonia Gandhi in a meeting of the Congress Core Committee, the government is looking for ways to find the best way to put the issue on hold. The government still hopes to reintroduce it at some later date.

For the moment, government sources say that FDI in retail has been put on hold "indefinitely" with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee likely to use the phrase that the "FDI in retail is being kept in abeyance".

Mukherjee was asked by Sonia Gandhi to handle the issue with the least damage to the government and the party. The core committee then authorised him to take up the matter with the allies as well as the opposition before the house reconvenes on Wednesday. The core committee took stock of the situation and it was felt that the house should run. There was also an assessment that since the government did not have the numbers and there was no big bloc of votes backing the government, there was no question of entertaining an adjournment motion, as that was too close a call to be taken.

Government managers were busy putting out news that the government had the numbers but the core committee assessment was to the contrary, along with the fact that two key allies the Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam and the Trinamool Congress were against the proposal.

Pranab Mukherjee on Monday spoke to Bharatiya Janata Party and Left leaders and told them that the government had decided to put the issue on hold. BJP wants the government to convene an all-party meeting so that they can take the credit for bringing the government on its knees and forcing them to rollback the decision.

While the opposition is still continuing to demand an assurance that there would be rollback, saying they are not satisfied with keeping the issue on hold. The government looks like it is not inclined to give a categorical assurance to that effect.

For the moment it's a game of political one-upmanship with different sides keen to take the credit.

It seems likely that the Congress Parliamentary Party  meeting convened for Wednesday morning at 9.30, which was to be addressed by Pranab Mukherjee, may now be held on Thursday morning. Instead there may be a meeting of floor leaders to discuss the issue and decide the best method to end the ongoing impasse in Parliament and restore order so that the government can go back to passing some important bills that are pending.

Interestingly, Abhishek Singhvi who heads the standing committee which is preparing the report on the Lokpal bill has asked for an extension of another one week to finalise his report after serious differences erupted in the committee.

Along with this the Standing Committee of rural development that is looking at the land acquisition bill and the Standing Committee of finance, which is looking at GST have also not given their reports on these important bills.

The opposition is keen that the political message through Parliament should be that the Manmohan Singh government is paralysed and is not able to pass key legislation. The aim is to keep the government under pressure through various means and the Standing Committees not able to give their reports is part of the process. Many of the Standing committees are headed by opposition leaders.