With just three days left before the second half of the Budget Session draws to a close, a desperate Government is trying to mollify the Opposition in a bid to get the populist Food Security Bill passed.
While the BJP is determined to stall Parliament till law Minister Ashwani Kumar and Railway Minister PK Bansal are sacked, the UPA made the first serious move on Tuesday to end the stalemate in the House.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi briefly dropped the veneer of reticence and aloofness and reached out to leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj in an effort to get the BJP’s support to pass the legislation.
Soon after the lok Sabha was adjourned, Sonia Gandhi approached Sushma Swaraj as she was going towards Central Hall along with veteran BJP leader lK Advani and other MPs. Sonia put an arm around Sushma’s shoulder and walked with her for some time. The two leaders were seen talking animatedly with each other.
This gesture of rapprochement from Sonia’s side is significant, as Sushma recently accused her of encouraging Congress MPs to disrupt Parliament. Sushma also accused Sonia of having no regard for India’s democratic institutions.
Sources said Sushma conveyed to Sonia that the BJP will participate in any all-party initiative to break the deadlock if such an exercise is undertaken at the Prime Ministerial level.
The Government has also informally reached out to left parties. They are also reported to have conveyed that they want an initiative from the Government’s side to break the logjam in Parliament. This has given rise to speculations about the likelihood of an all-party meeting on the issue. Congress spokesman Sandeep Dikshit said that discussions are going on at various levels.
“The Government is talking. The Parliamentary Affairs Minister is talking to all of them. It is not that efforts are not being made. let us see. Efforts are still on. let us hope something can be resolved,” he said. He accused the BJP of playing politics as the demand for the resignation of the law and Railway Ministers, and the land Acquisition Bill and Food Security Bill are different issues.
“The BJP is disrupting Parliament on one pretext or the other which is unfortunate and condemnable,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Congress is eagerly waiting for the Karnataka elections results to be declared on May 8 as it hopes they will be good for the party and help counter the negative publicity it has been getting.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath said that the Karnataka poll results will show who the people believe is corrupt. He accused the BJP of not allowing the vital Food Security Bill to be passed.
However, despite the fact that the Congress is presenting a united front to the Opposition, differences are emerging between the Congress and the Government over the Prime Minister’s reported backing of Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal and law Minister Ashwani Kumar.
This unease within the party was evident at the Congress Core Group meeting chaired by Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday.
Sonia asked Manmohan Singh to forcefully project the Government’s policies and decisions in the media to counter the negative publicity that the party is getting on the JPC report on 2G spectrum scam, the coal scam and the controversies surrounding Kumar and Bansal.
At the meeting attended by senior Ministers and Political Secretary of Congress president Ahmed Patel, the Prime Minister strongly supported both Kumar and Bansal saying that if the Opposition’s demand for their resignation is conceded it would not stop at that and such demands will grow, sources said.
However, another section of the party feels that damaging media reports about Bansal’s relatives and Kumar making changes in the CBI affidavit is affecting the party’s image and defending their deeds is becoming increasingly difficult. This could affect the Congress’ prospects in elections also, so measures should be taken to counter it.
The party is waiting for the Supreme Court’s judgement on the CBI affidavit on Wednesday, based on which the fate of Ashwani Kumar would be decided.
Instead of conceding the Opposition’s demand for the Minister’s resignation, one of the options being considered by the Congress is giving an honorable exit to both Bansal and Kumar by having a Cabinet reshuffle, sources said.