New Delhi, Dec 5 (IANS) In an attempt to end the logjam in parliament over the issue of foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Monday spoke to Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) L.K. Advani and Sushma Swaraj and Left leader Sitaram Yechury to convey the government’s decision to put on hold the reform policy.
However, the BJP leaders said they want a complete rollback of the policy, and not just hold over.
Sources said the Congress veteran assured the leaders that the government would consult the opposition parties and also various stakeholders before taking a final decision and that the FDI decision has been put on hold for the moment.
He is also understood to have requested them to let parliament run.
‘He (Mukherjee) called me. I told him either roll back the FDI decision or have a debate under adjournment motion,’ Sushma Swaraj told reporters.
The finance minister’s attempts to resolve the deadlock come in the aftermath of parliament having lost the whole of last week to adjournments on the issue.
Yechury said Mukherjee conveyed to him that the decision has been put on ‘suspension’.
‘He said they want the parliament session to continue and I replied that we always wanted parliament to continue,’ he said.
Nearly half of parliament’s 21-day winter session has been lost to protests on the issue.
Sources said Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Yechury ‘reiterated that the government should call an all-party meet on the issue’ to clarify their stand.
Speaking to reporters, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said Mukherjee spoke to both Swaraj and Advani.
‘We are not in favour of FDI in retail. We want the government to clear their position. Both the leaders conveyed to Pranab babu that they wanted a rollback of the FDI,’ he added.
He also said Mukherjee said he ‘will talk to the prime minister and revert’.
‘There has been no further communication from Pranab babu,’ he added.
Earlier in the day, Mukherjee had said that he would make a statement ‘on the floor of the house (parliament)’.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Sunday expressed hope that parliament would function normally from Wednesday when it meets after a four-day break.
His comments came a day after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took everyone by surprise when she announced in Kolkata that the central government has decided to keep on hold its decision to allow foreign equity in retail till a consensus emerges on the issue.
She said Mukherjee had conveyed the government’s message to her.
The announcement triggered reactions from opposition parties which said any such decision should be announced officially.
Besides the opposition parties, Mamata’s Trinamool Congress and the DMK — both Congress allies — have not been in favour of the FDI in retail sector.
