NDA meet to fine tune floor co-ordination

In a rare sight, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) appeared divided over floor tactics in the Lok Sabha during zero hour, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wishing to stage a walkout over the spat between Lalu Prasad and Ram Vilas Paswan, and the Janata Dal (United) wishing to rush to the well of the House.

To address this division of opinion, the NDA will be holding a meeting tomorrow. The agenda will only deal with floor co-ordination and the common reaction of the alliance to various issues. The meeting is to be held at LK Advani's chamber in the Parliament House.

Among the issues set to figure in the meeting were the spat between Lalu and Paswan and the Shankaracharya issue, said BJP parliamentary party spokesman VK Malhotra.

NDA sources said while the BJP was not in favour of boycotting the proceedings, some JD(U) leaders were in favour of protest walkout or even rushing to the well of the House demanding that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh make a statement on the charges levelled against each other by the two Union ministers.

Today though as the Rashtriya Janata Dal members raised personal issues related to Advani, JD(U) leader Prabhunath Singh wanted to rush to the well of the House, while Advani wanted to stage a walkout. After a fair bit of confusion, the NDA members did walkout, but clearly Mamata Banerjee (Trinamool Congress )appeared reluctant to do so.

Prabhunath Singh, in fact, wrote Advani saying there was a need for the NDA to provide a more "cohesive opposition."

Another ally, the Shiv Sena, which had initially favoured smooth transaction of business was also in a mood to register its protest effectively, they said. The NDA is also upset over the Spea-ker not allowing discussion on the issue of price rise under rule 184, which provides for voting.

But the BJP is caught in a dilemma as a special discussion under rule 193 is scheduled for tomorrow on its insistence. The allies may come around to the idea of stalling the proceedings instead of walking out, they said.

Malhotra charged the government with "taking the Opposition for granted." He said, "while they took a promise from us not to stall the proceedings, they are not willing to do anything."

The meeting is significant in that, till now, when it came to the business of the House, the NDA followed the BJP's lead, it is for the first time that this lead is being brought into question.