Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar will attend the meeting of group of ministers (GoM) around 5 pm today to discuss the situation arising after the commerce ministry's decision to ban cotton export.
Pawar, who had strongly opposed the ban on the exports, seeking intervention of the Prime Minister, had earlier expressed inability to attend today's GoM meeting citing his prior engagements. But later, the minister decided to attend the meeting after a phone call with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee who is heading the GoM.
Prior to his meeting with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) ministers and leaders from Maharashtra to review the party's performance in the recent local and civic body elections, Pawar told Business Standard, "I am planning to attend today's meeting."
He said he had an elaborate discussion over phone with the Finance Minister on the ban on cotton exports and the subsequent situation prevailing in the country. Pawar is expected to leave his party's meeting halfway and fly to the capital after 1.30 pm.
Pawar's move is crucial after Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and his deputy, Ajit Pawar, during their meetings with the Prime Minister and Finance Minister had made a strong plea for lifting the ban on cotton exports.
Pawar, in his communication to the Prime Minister, had said that ban on cotton exports, which would impact lakhs of farmers, should have been taken after proper consultations either in the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs or Cabinet Committee on Prices, like it is done in the case of wheat and sugar.
He also noted that the decision was quite harmful as the cotton growers in Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh were in great distress as traders have stopped buying cotton from them after the decision.
Mukherjee's conversation with Pawar was crucial after the Prime Minister had asked the GoM to review the ban. Besides, neither the government nor the Congress party in particular can keep Pawar-led NCP, a crucial ally fuming over the ban on cotton exports especially when BJP, Samajwadi Party and Trinamool Congress have called for a mid term poll.
Congress party president Sonia Gandhi, in her maiden press conference on Wednesday after the humiliating defeat in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Goa, had announced that the party-led government would focus on increasing dialogue with the UPA allies as well as opposition parties especially for the passage of crucial bills in the parliament.