The government’s decision to hold back its decision to allow foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail was taken solely because the government was unsure of the numbers in its support, should the matter come for voting in the Lok Sabha in the form of an adjournment motion.
Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, also leader of the Lok Sabha, addressed the Congress Parliamentary Party (comprising MPs in both Houses) and explained that “for the first time since Independence, we might have had a situation where an adjournment motion might been supported by a ruling ally”.
Mukherjee said the decision (on allowing FDI) was the right one. But “to avoid a mid-term poll, we had to suspend the FDI roll out”. This was repeated by minister for parliamentary affairs Pawan Bansal, who said the party had endorsed the decision but the fear that the numbers might not add up led the government to pull back.
Sources close to Bansal said till the last moment the Trinamool Congress did not clarify which way they were going to vote. “They told us they would not let the government fall. But when asked which way they would vote on the floor of the House, they said, ‘we will decide when the time comes to vote’. It was too risky, so we decided not to court risk.”
Several party MPs who are supporters of the deal on Thursday confessed they were unhappy the decision had been withdrawn but were confident it would go ahead again in the future. “Consensus does not mean unanimity. Yes, those opposed to FDI in retail will be consulted and there will be attempts to reach a consensus. But consensus doesn’t mean everyone has to agree,” a Congress MP who supports the move said.
Party sources said Congress president Sonia Gandhi had initially fully supported the move.
At the meeting, Mukherjee held an extensive briefing on the issue of unaccounted money, laws governing exchange of financial information and the problems in revealing the names of those who might have opened illegal foreign accounts. He took no questions but promised to return to answer MPs’ questions next week.