New Delhi, November 30: Day 7 of the winter session is set to be rocked by the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) storm yet again. The government is desperately looking for a way out. UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee met Congress MPs on Wednesday morning to brief them on the government’s stand on FDI. She also met Pranab Mukherjee and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal on Wednesday to discuss the issue.
Late on Tuesday night Pranab Mukherjee also held a meeting the Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal to strategise on how to break the deadlock in Parliament.
What is now emerging is that the government is unlikely to agree to an adjournment motion. Also the Congress has little scope to backtrack on the FDI decision after the Prime Minister defended it on Tuesday.
But some policy changes are possible in the FDI proposal to protect small retailers.
The Congress has also been battling dissent within its party ranks on the issue after some Congress leaders slammed the new FDI policy, saying it could harm poll prospects and also alienate small traders.
Even as the UPA has been facing a tough time with Parliament being stalled for six days, the Prime Minister has continued to do some tough talking.
Defending FDI in retail on Tuesday, he said, “We are confident that the increase of FDI in the retail sector will bring the latest technology to India. The wastage of farm produce will decrease and farmers will get better prices for their crop. We are not forcing anybody to adopt FDI in retail.”
The Opposition, however, is not convinced. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said, “We want a discussion in Parliament on our adjournment motion on FDI in retail. Why is Government running away from a discussion followed by a vote in the House?”
–Agencies