Govt to hold discussions with party leaders on sugarcane issue

With Opposition parties stalling Parliament for the second day today, Government has decided to hold discussions with leaders of some political parties to sort out the problem over the new sugarcane pricing policy.

Leader of the Opposition L K Advani, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and RLD chief Ajit Singh are among the leaders expected to attend the meeting today with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is also the Leader of the Lok Sabha.

Before the proposed meeting, Mukherjee will also hold discussions with UPA leaders on the sugarcane pricing policy issue, which has united the entire Opposition. Earlier in the day, the Finance Minister held consultations with several of his cabinet colleagues, including Law Minister M Veerappa Moily, amid talk that the government was contemplating some changes in the Sugarcane Control Ordinance which has been the cause of the protests by farmers.

The government has already invited leaders of all political parties for a breakfast meeting on Monday in a bid to hammer out a solution on the issue. Mukherjee had yesterday invited the floor leaders for the meeting in the backdrop of DMK, a key ally of ruling UPA, joining the united opposition in the protest against the policy.