In what could be termed a give-and-take understanding, the government and the Opposition parties on Thursday broke the four-day logjam in Parliament. The ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) agreed for discussion with voting on foreign direct investment (FDI) in the retail sector in both Houses, while the principal Opposition party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), assured no disruption of normal business.
While the discussion in the Lok Sabha has been slated for December 4 and 5, the timing of the debate in the Rajya Sabha will be fixed after consultations with various political parties.
As soon as the House convened, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar allowed the discussion in the Lok Sabha under Rule 184. Confusion, however, prevailed over the debate in the Rajya Sabha and the Upper House was adjourned till noon.
The matter was resolved after the government agreed to a similar debate in the Rajya Sabha, clearing the decks for a trial of strength over FDI in retail in Parliament next week.
This will be the first such trial of strength in the 15th Lok Sabha.
The decision led to an end of the stalemate in Parliament on the issue, which had paralysed proceedings for four days with both the left- and the right-wing parties making a common cause.
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After the truce, Finance Minister P Chidambaram moved the Bill to amend the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, 2002, for consideration and passing in the Lok Sabha. The legislative business of the House also included Home Minster Sushilkumar Shinde to move the Bill to amend the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, and minister of state in the Prime Minister’s office, V Narayanasamy, to move the Bill to prevent corruption relating to bribery of foreign public officials of public international organisations for consideration.
The government is also likely to try and get important Bills, including the Companies Act Amendment Bill, and the pension and insurance Bills, cleared in the current session.
Earlier, following an all-party meeting and discussions with UPA leaders, the government signalled its readiness for a debate after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath held consultations with Opposition leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley yesterday.
Although the government appears to be in a comfortable situation in the Lok Sabha, the Samajwadi Party (SP)’s indications that it will vote against FDI in retail in the Rajya Sabha has made the exercise interesting in the Upper House.
The government does not have a majority in the Rajya Sabha. The UPA and its allies have a strength of 94 members in the 244-member Upper House.
The 10 nominated members might vote with the government. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has 15 MPs and the SP, nine.
Among the seven independents, three or four might support the government. The BSP, which extends outside support to the UPA, has 15 members and it has said it will disclose its stand on the issue on the floor of the House.
In the Lok Sabha, however, the government is in a comfortable position. Both the SP and the BSP are giving support to the government and key ally Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam has also decided to go with it to keep communal forces at bay.
The UPA enjoys the support of about 265 MPs in the Lok Sabha, which has a total strength of 545. With the support of the SP (22) and BSP (21), the backing for the ruling coalition goes beyond 300, against the 273 required. The Trinamool Congress, with 19 MPs, has also expressed its reservations on the Opposition's demand for voting on the issue.