Trinamool cautions govt on FDI issue

As the logjam over FDI in retail ended, UPA's key partner Trinamool Congress, which had sided with the Opposition, today cautioned the government on making any "hasty attempt" to bring the bill without a discussion on the "big ticket" issue.

"No hasty attempt should be made to reintroduce the bill. This is a big ticket item and this needs to be talked about," TMC leader and Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi said, adding the "problem" could have been averted if there had been a proper communication.

"I think there is no harm in this. Once you talk to the people, you know the pulse of the people and pulse of the people is democracy," he said.

"I personally attribute this particular problem due to lack of effective communication at all levels," Trivedi said in reply to a query.

The Minister said "more than half of the problems start due to lack of effective communication."

Asked if government should have a coordination committee on lines of the UPA-I, Trivedi said, "When mandate is fractured, decision-making process is slower. However, the big ticket items the Government would like to introduce, it becomes difficult because you have to consult more number of people and political parties."

The Railway Minister complimented the Prime Minister for suspending FDI decision saying "without standing on any prestige issue, you have listened to the voice of the people."

Trivedi said now there will be a debate on the FDI issue and "there has to be some kind of mechanism that you talk to everybody. And it is quite possible that after talking to everybody, you take a decision."