Govt may find the going tough in Parliament over reforms

The UPA may face staunch opposition from Left parties and ex-ally Mamata Banerjee

The passage of bills relating to big bang reforms including FDI in insurance and pensions may not be an easy task, with the Left and Trinamool Congress staunchly against them and BJP remaining ambivalent.

Mamata Banerjee, whose party was a key constituent of the ruling UPA till last month, described as "immoral and unethical" the decisions on FDI in insurance and pension sectors taken by the Cabinet today.

She declared in Kolkata that her party planned to bring a no-confidence motion to oust the Manmohan Singh government and asked all UPA partners to pull out. TMC has 19 members in the Lok Sabha.

The Left parties also vehemently opposed the reform decisions, saying they would fight to defeat these policy measures when they are brought in Parliament.

"The UPA government is determined to sell out the interests of the country in all sectors. We will work to defeat all these Bills in Parliament," CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat told PTI.

The BJP, however, remained ambivalent on whether it will support these measures in Parliament and said while it is not opposed to more FDI in these areas, certain caveats and conditions should be met to "safeguard the interest of people".

On allowing FDI in insurance, BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance headed by Yashwant Sinha had gone into the issue and recommended 26 per cent FDI.

Congress today expressed confidence that it would ensure passage of the concerned bills in Parliament by bringing various political parties on board.

"We will try to take different political parties in confidence and we are sure that we will succeed in getting the relevant bills passed," party spokesman Rashid Alvi said.