4.43 pm: Kamal Nath asks parties to reconsider stand
The government and opposition parties are clearly on parallel lines as far as FDI in retail is concerned, and what this is doing is spelling trouble ahead for the winter session of Parliament. After the BJP categorically said that it would not settle for anything less than a debate and vote on FDI under section 184, the government is trying to make them change their minds.
Parliamentary affairs Minister Kamal Nath is reportedly asking the parties to reconsider the debate. Since FDI in retail was passed as an executive cabinet decision it does not require a parliamentary vote. However the BJP has called the move ‘executive despotism’ and is demanding its rollback.
3:44 pm: Won’t settle for anything short of a debate under Rule 184, says Sushma Swaraj, TMC wants no confidence motion
BJP’s leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj has told the Congress and UPA allies in no uncertain terms that they will not settle for anything short of a debate under Rule 184.
“We have told them that you have broken your promise made to Parliament regarding FDI in retail and this can only be settled through a vote on the issue under Rule 184,” Sushma Swaraj told reporters.
The UPA asked the BJP and NDA allies to reconsider but the firebrand leader said that she told them to reconsider their stand instead.
“The ball is in their court now…There is no question of compromise except after a debate under Rule 184,” Swaraj said.
The TMC has an alternate suggestion. Move a no-confidence motion and we’ll back it, said TMC leader Sudeep Bandopadhyay.
“What Mamata Banerjee thought yesterday, the total Opposition thinks today. This government should go,” he said.
He said that it was now upto Speaker Meira Kumar to decide what the next course of action should be.
The TMC has another suggestion though: someone else should move a no-confidence motion.
“If the Opposition moves a no confidence motion then we will support it,” Bandopadhyay said. Will he really after the snub last week?
2.33 pm: No compromise folks, expect another washed out session
So contrary to the last update we received from the all-party meet that is still underway in Parliament, it turns out that the BJP has refused to budge from its demand that the government decision to introduce FDI in retail be subject to a discussion and debate under section 184.
The latest reports coming in indicate that leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, had been insistent at the conference, and had been backed by Nitish Kumar’s JDU. The Left parties have also been clamouring for a vote.
The Samajawadi Party has agreed to abstain if FDI comes to a vote, which will come as a huge relief to the government. BSP supremo Mayawati however, has other things on her mind, saying that the SC/ST promotions quota bill needs to be passed before FDI is taken up.
The Samajawadi Party has already said it will oppose this.
“I think this is absolutely wrong and this should not be done. This is absolutely ridiculous. People have been waiting for 30 years for getting promoted and working hard for it,
what will happen to them,” SP MP Jaya Bachchan told reporters.
She said parents take a lot of pain in getting education for their children and hope that they would grow naturally in their careers.
“This reservation in promotion will work against that,” she said and asked “Do you want to break this country”.
1.45 pm: Breakthrough in FDI deadlock?
The latest news coming in from the all-party meet which is currently underway in Parliament is that a compromise is being worked out between the government and opposition with regards to FDI in retail.
The Times Now channel reported that the latest they were hearing was that a discussion on FDI would take place but not under section 184 (which entails voting) as the opposition has been demanding.
This latest piece of information comes even as it transpires that the Samajawadi Party has agreed to abstain if FDI comes to a vote, virtually ensuring that the government will emerge on top.
1. 18 pm: SP will abstain if voting takes place on FDI
In a huge breakthrough for the government, Samajwadi Party has agreed to abstain from voting if the FDI issue is put to vote in Parliament. According to reports, party leaders have told the PM that they won’t insist on debate with voting on FDI.
SP is an important ally of the UPA. However, they have earlier protested on the issue of FDI in retail. Just before the all-party meeting, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav had met the PM for a discussion.
The opposition has been demanding a vote on the issue.
The stalemate has continued since the start of the session on 22 November, and although there has been no word from the government on whether it will accept the opposition demand, the NDTV news channel reported that UPA floor managers are working overtime to ensure adequate numbers to ward off any threat in the event of a vote.
This latest development is bound to be a huge fillip for the government in this regard. The SP has 22 seats in the Lok Sabha.
CNN-IBN quoting sources said that Congress may agree to a vote if it’s sure of winning.
NDTV added that although the government will not fall if it loses a discussion-and-vote in Parliament, it would not only be a crippling embarrassment, but would also give the opposition an upper hand in its sustained refusal to accept FDI in retail.
12.50 pm: More meetings on sidelines of all-party-meet
With two full days and most of the third day of the winter session washed out, the Congress is holding a flurry of meetings on retail FDI.
Earlier in the day Commerce Minister Anand Sharma met Rajya Sabha opposition leader Arun Jaitley, and now the Congress is meeting with Samajawadi Party head Mulayam Singh Yadav as well as several key SP leaders. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also met DMK leaders yesterday, but they were reportedly non-commital on the issue.
The all-party meet will take place at 1pm, where the government may or may not agree to a vote on FDI, a demand from which the opposition is refusing to back down.
12.19 pm: Lok Sabha also adjourned
The brave attempts to conduct business on the floor of the house in the Lok Sabha have finally in the inevitable: adjournment.
Several motions were taken up for adoption and passed, amid utter chaos in the well of the house with opposition MPs screaming out anti-FDI slogans.
The much awaited all-party meet will take place at 1pm, but it remains to be seen if any sort of consensus will be reached, or if the winter session is headed for the same fate as the monsoon session that ended in well, a washout.
12.07 pm: Rajya Sabha adjourned, Lok Sabha functions amid ruckus
Parliament reconvened as scheduled, but there was clearly no change in the hours break between sessions, with opposition parties resuming their anti-FDI sloganeering in the well of the house. The Lok Sabha is presently functioning amid the uproar with several motions adopted, but the Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day.
An all-party meet has been scheduled for 1pm in an effort to break the deadlock, and Commerce Minister Anand Sharma has also met opposition leader in the Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley on the issue.
The UPA Coordination Committee is also meeting with allies on Tuesday over FDI.
The opposition is demanding a debate and vote under Rule 184.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj has insisted on a vote on the issue saying this was necessary because the government violated its assurance to Parliament that FDI in multi-brand retail would not be implemented till a consensus was reached among all stakeholders.
Although the government will not fall if it loses a discussion-and-vote in Parliament, it would not only be a crippling embarrassment, but would also give the opposition an upper hand in its sustained refusal to accept FDI in retail.
11.49 pm: Commerce Minister meets Jaitley on FDI
Commerce Minister Anand Sharma has met leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley to discuss the issue of FDI in retail, even as Parliament lost yet another session due to a logjam on the issue.
An all party meet convened by Parliamentary Affairs minister Kamal Nath at 1pm is likely to focus on the issue as well.
11.37 pm: Don’t try and change the focus, says BJP
The BJP has slammed the government, saying that its insistence on a parliamentary discussion on former CAG official RP Singh’s allegations pertaining to its report on the 2G scam, were nothing but a ploy to distract people from the focus of the report.
“The question is about the corruption in the 2G scam. It is unfortunate that Congress is trying to change the focus”, said BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad, to reporters outside Parliament.
The BJP comments came even as UPA ally DMK filed notice for a discussion on the report in the Lok Sabha under rule 193 which does not entail voting.
11.09 pm: Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha adjourned till noon
And in a development that really surprises no one, both houses of Parliament were adjourned minutes after proceedings began, over the issue of FDI in retail, on which the opposition is demanding a debate and vote under Rule 184.
An all party meet has been scheduled for 1pm, in which the government will attempt to break the deadlock.
The stalemate has continued since the start of the session on 22 November, and although there has been no word from the government on whether it will accept the opposition demand, the NDTV news channel reported that UPA floor managers are working overtime to ensure adequate numbers to ward off any threat in the event of a vote.
The newest entrant to the political sphere, Arvind Kejriwal wasted no time in tweeting his opinion on the adjournments:
https://twitter.com/ArvindKejriwal7/status/272942120296402944
And in more bad news for India, the cricket team lost the second test match to England by 10 wickets. But as CNN-IBN managing editor Rajdeep Sardesai points out, at least they played!
https://twitter.com/sardesairajdeep/status/272937831205310464
10.12 pm: DMK gives notice for discussion on CAG report on 2G scam
The DMK, which is quite possibly the political party most affected by the fallout from the CAG report on the 2G scam, has given a notice for a discussion on the report in the wake of allegations of former CAG official RP Singh, who said that the report and loss figure of Rs 1.76 Lakh crore was influenced by BJP MP Murli Manohar Joshi.
The DMK saw the arrest and imprisonment of party supremo Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi, as well as senior party leader and former Telecom Minister A Raja for their roles in the scam. They want a discussion under rule 193 which entails no voting.
The Congress, which has been calling for Joshi to come forward and address the allegations leveled against him is likely to welcome the move as an opportunity to further establish their contention that the scam figure was greatly exaggerated in the CAG report, and that they did nothing wrong.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath confirmed that the DMK had filed the motion. “This is not a discussion on CAG, it is a discussion on RP Singh’s claims. On what this is all about,” he said.
This, of course, is entirely contingent on whether or not the opposition, which is more concerned with the issue of FDI in retail, will allow Parliament to function.
9.35 am: Can the all party meet break FDI deadlock?
With the first two days of the winter session completely washed out due to numerous opposition disruptions, will today’s all party meet break the deadlock in Parliament and see any work get done?
Convened by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath, the meeting, scheduled for 1pm, is likely to concentrate on the thorny issue of FDI in retail, on which the opposition is demanding a debate and vote under Rule 184.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj has insisted on a vote on the issue saying this was necessary because the government violated its assurance to Parliament that FDI in multi-brand retail would not be implemented till a consensus was reached among all stakeholders.
Reuters
Parliament members can express their opinion only this way and “that is why we are pressing for a discussion under Rule 184,” she said. The Left also wants a discussion under rule 184.
The stalemate has continued since the start of the session on 22 November, and although there has been no word from the government on whether it will accept the opposition demand, the NDTV news channel reported that UPA floor managers are working overtime to ensure adequate numbers to ward off any threat in the event of a vote.
CNN-IBN quoting sources said that Congress may agree to a vote if it’s sure of winning.
The problems of the government have been further compounded by the fact that DMK Party chief M Karunanidhi had told reporters in Chennai recently that his party does not favour the decision to allow FDI in multi-brand retail.
Karunanidhi held a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, but is reportedly still non committal on his stand on the issue.
NDTV added that although the government will not fall if it loses a discussion-and-vote in Parliament, it would not only be a crippling embarrassment, but would also give the opposition an upper hand in its sustained refusal to accept FDI in retail.
The issue of SC/ST promotions in government jobs raised by the BSP and opposed by SP in Parliament, has also contributed to the Parliamentary washout, especially in the Rajya Sabha.
With inputs from PTI
