Pawar plays peacemaker to get House push for food Bill

BJP says would attend all-party meet only if PM calls it

Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, head of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), today became a mediator of sorts between the government and an aggressive Opposition, seeking to bring them together because, he feels, the Food Security Bill should not be passed without debate.

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s Ananth Kumar was asked by his party to convey to Pawar that the party would attend an all-party meeting called by the prime minister on the two Bills the government would like to debate and pass — on food security and land acquisition. The party stuck to its stand that it would not go for a meeting convened by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath or Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar.

Parliament remained non-functional today and after two adjournments, the two houses adjourned for the day at 2 pm. The BJP remained adamant on its demand that two ministers, Ashwani Kumar (law) and Pawan Bansal (railways), resign. The government is hoping the combination of Pawar’s powers of persuasion, combined with its expected victory in the Karnataka Assembly elections, the counting for which will start tomorrow morning, would work in bringing the BJP around.

Significantly, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who has been under attack from Sushma Swaraj, today reached out to the BJP leader in Parliament and walked with one hand on her shoulder, ostensibly to win support for the passage of the key Bills.

The Central Bureau of Investigation, meanwhile, worked overtime on Vijay Singla, prime accused in the bribes-for-promotion scam in the railway ministry, securing an extension of custody. Information was released about interception of  telephone conversations of people close to the minister and suggestions made that these phones could not possibly have been tapped without the government’s go-ahead.

Pawar’s offer to try to resolve this impasse was seized upon eagerly by the government in the circumstances. Pawar was initially opposed to the Food Security Bill, on the ground that India needed to increase agricultural production before offering almost-free grain to the poor. He took the initiative on the reasoning that the Bill in its current form should be debated. He met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, in this connection.

CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury told reporters: "Pawar is on record to say that this crucial piece of legislation should be passed after a thorough discussion. We are of the same opinion and have moved amendments to universalise food security for the entire population.”

The ruling UPA has been attacking the BJP for obstructing the food Bill on the pretext of demanding the resignation of the two ministers. Spokesman Sandeep Dikshit said, “I have said it earlier as well; the BJP is playing politics to stop these people-friendly legislations.”

Pawar’s reservations on the Bill remain.  He continues to have reservations about how the government would manage to provide food in a year when there would be a flood or a famine. He is known to be unhappy about the Bill in its present form and does not want it to be passed without debate, his lieutenants said.

NCP leader D P Tripathi told Business Standard: “The Food Security Bill is a crucial one. Seventy amendments have been proposed in it. Parliament needs to discuss these.”

Congress party insiders say in this situation, with an obdurate Opposition, the government could adopt the Ordinance route. However, opinion ws generally against this and Pawar’s intervention has further weakened this possibility. Although there was strong discussion in the party that with Parliament being obstructed every day, there was little point in persisting with the session, top Congress sources today put an end to all such speculation, saying the Bills would be discussed in Parliament.