Ayodhya edges WTO out of Jaitley's diary

 The temple tangle seems to have scored over trade talks in the calculations of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government.

 Under attack from the Opposition on the Ayodhya issue, the BJP leadership wants Minister for Law and Commerce and Industry Arun Jaitley to stay back and do some firefighting here rather that attend the World Trade Organisation (WTO) mini-ministerial in Montreal next week.

 Minister for Disinvestment and Communications Arun Shourie has been asked to fill in for Jaitley.

 Around 30 countries are expected to attend the Montreal meet, the last mini-ministerial before the WTO ministerial meeting scheduled to be held in Cancun from September 10.

 Shourie was handling the commerce and industry portfolio for a short while after DMK leader Murasoli Maran, who led India at the last WTO ministerial meeting in Doha, was hospitalised.

 During his brief stint, Shourie had said India should review its strategy and stand on multilateral trade issues. Jaitley has, on the other hand, continued with the strategy adopted by India over the last few years.

 Commerce ministry officials, however, said India would stick to its stand on these issues.

 At Montreal, trade ministers will make a last-minute attempt to put the agricultural and non-agricultural market access negotiations back on track. The deadlines for drawing up modalities in both cases has lapsed and talks are deadlocked.

 On Thursday, the WTO general council extended the special session of the dispute settlement body, which is reviewing the trade body