DMK on board, PM gets confidence back
28 Nov 2012 6:38 AM IST
Coming as a huge relief to the UPA government, which has been cornered on the issue of voting on FDI in multi-brand retail, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) supremo M Karunanidhi on Tuesday said it will support the government. Millennium Post had, on 15 November, reported that the DMK would be supporting the Congress-led government on the FDI issue in Parliament. Though at the state level, in Tamil Nadu, the DMK will take a different stand, in Parliament it will go all out and help the UPA to garner numbers.
After an hour-long meeting of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) leaders, prime minister Manmohan Singh said, ‘We are confident of the numbers’. This presented a unified image of the UPA, as the gamechanger, DMK, came out to support the government on this issue. The UPA had already garnered outside support of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
Parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath said: ‘The UPA is united on any decision of the speaker and the government. All constituents are firmly behind the government. The allies want the speaker to decide. I will consult the speaker.’ Nath also indicated the government was ready for a vote, and that ‘the government was not averse to discussion under any rules.’
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Opposition has been aggressively pressing for a discussion under Rule 184 in the Lok Sabha and Rule 167 in the Rajya Sabha, which entail voting at the end of the debate, while the government was in favour of Rule 193, which does not entail voting.
The BJP has made it amply clear to the government that it will not let Parliament function until the government agrees to a debate and vote. Even on Tuesday the logjam continued as both Houses were adjourned. Successively for the fourth day in the winter session, no business has been conducted because of the disruptions.
BJP spokesman Shahnawaz Hussain said: ‘We are ready for a discussion on FDI in retail only under Rule 184 (which entails voting). The country wants to know which party really supports or opposes FDI in retail. There were some parties which were earlier opposed to it but are now supporting FDI.’
After an hour-long meeting of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) leaders, prime minister Manmohan Singh said, ‘We are confident of the numbers’. This presented a unified image of the UPA, as the gamechanger, DMK, came out to support the government on this issue. The UPA had already garnered outside support of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
Parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath said: ‘The UPA is united on any decision of the speaker and the government. All constituents are firmly behind the government. The allies want the speaker to decide. I will consult the speaker.’ Nath also indicated the government was ready for a vote, and that ‘the government was not averse to discussion under any rules.’
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Opposition has been aggressively pressing for a discussion under Rule 184 in the Lok Sabha and Rule 167 in the Rajya Sabha, which entail voting at the end of the debate, while the government was in favour of Rule 193, which does not entail voting.
The BJP has made it amply clear to the government that it will not let Parliament function until the government agrees to a debate and vote. Even on Tuesday the logjam continued as both Houses were adjourned. Successively for the fourth day in the winter session, no business has been conducted because of the disruptions.
BJP spokesman Shahnawaz Hussain said: ‘We are ready for a discussion on FDI in retail only under Rule 184 (which entails voting). The country wants to know which party really supports or opposes FDI in retail. There were some parties which were earlier opposed to it but are now supporting FDI.’
Next Story
