BJP’s softened stand based on hard-coal politics
3 Sept 2012 6:24 AM IST
More than the phone call from the Congress president Sonia Gandhi to Sushma Swaraj, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, it is the threat from an emerging third front that is likely to have made the Bharatiya Janata Party [BJP] leadership revisit its strategy of stalling Parliament.
In an indication of softening of stand on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation, the BJP leader Swaraj on Sunday said that Parliament could function if the party's two other demands were met.
'Coal block allocations should be cancelled, and an independent probe should be ordered [in the case]. If the government agrees to these demands, we can start the discussion and Parliament can function,' she said. The BJP leader, however, was quick to add that the party still stood firm on the demand for Singh's resignation. 'For the resignation of the prime minister, there will be public pressure,' said Swaraj.
What has worried the BJP is the shift of the Telugu Desam Party towards the Samajwadi Party in their protest in Parliament against the coal block allocation. Also, with the AIADMK and the Biju Janata Dal staying away from the meeting of all opposition parties convened by the BJP, last week has got the BJP to rethink their plan for Parliament. All the three parties had been part of the National Democratic Alliance.
The change in the plan was also visible in the blog post of the BJP leader L K Advani. The senior leader wrote on Sunday, 'The NDA has offered to resolve the deadlock if all the allotments are cancelled and the process whereby the screening committee has decided these allocations is subjected to a judicial probe. The Government is not yet prepared for this.'
Advani criticised the prime minister for an unconvincing explanation on the coal block allocation. 'I was intrigued to find that federalism, rightly described by our Supreme Court as one of the basic features of the Indian Constitution and so one which cannot be amended by Parliament, was sought to be blamed by the Prime Minister in his totally unconvincing explanation,' wrote Advani in his blog.
COAL MINISTER HINTS AT MEETING BJP MIDWAY
After the leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said that the Bharatiya Janata Party [BJP] is ready for a debate in Parliament if the coal block allocation is cancelled, the government said that the fate of 58 such coal blocks would now be reviewed on Monday.
The coal minister Sriprakash Jaiswal said that an inter-ministerial group [IMG] would hold a meeting on Monday and would examine the recommendations of wrongful allotments and based on its report any number of allocations might be cancelled.
'Right now, no allocations are being cancelled. On the basis of the IMG report, the allocations which were made in a wrongful manner or those allottees who have failed to start production of coal in a time-bound manner may face action. Any number of coal blocks can be cancelled,' said Jaiswal.
The government has already issued de-allocation notices to 33 government firms and 25 private entities in this regard. The ministers' group, comprising representatives from different ministries, may recommend cancellation of such blocks, which did not comply to the development norms.
Sources said the firms in their replies furnished to the ministry have cited various reasons, including the land acquisition problems, delays in forestry and environment clearances and law and order problems for delays in developing the blocks.
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