Congress core group discusses National Food Security Bill

The National Food Security Bill was discussed at the Congress Core Group meeting on Friday, chaired by party president, Sonia Gandhi.

The meeting deliberated on the means by which the Bill could be pushed through. There has been much talk about whether the ordinance route should be adopted or a special session convened. Sources said no final decision was taken on the issue of ordinance.

Earlier in the day, Congress spokesperson Renuka Chowdhary indicated the party's preference to bring a Bill in Parliament with consensus of parties.

When asked if an ordinance would be adopted, she said, "If there is a blockade as we have seen, then we have to think. Food has to reach the poor."

Also on Friday, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar made it clear that he was not in favour of the ordinance route and wanted the Bill to be debated in Parliament.

However, the Congress rejected all talk of divisions within the United Progressive Alliance over the Food Bill.

There is a section within the party which is of the opinion that the ordinance route should be avoided and efforts should be made to bring other parties on board as escalating confrontation with the opposition will not serve any purpose since there is no urgency to go in for early polls.

Another round of discussions could take place within the next week on the issue to decide on whether to bring in an ordinance or go for a normal session, which means bringing the Bill in the monsoon session.Sources said that apart from the Food Bill, the Telangana issue also came up for discussion at the Core Group meeting but no decision was taken. Sources said some clear stand could be taken by the party within the next fortnight.