Facing a logjam in Parliament, the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, today stepped-up efforts to bring UPA allies on board on the issue of FDI in retail but the key partner Trinamool Congress insisted on rollback of the controversial decision.
“Our stand remains the same. We want discussion,” Trinamool Congress leader, Mr Sudip Bandopadhyaya, told reporters after a meeting with the Prime Minister.
Representatives of DMK and National Conference were also present at the meeting called in the wake of Opposition demands for an adjournment motion on the issue that has paralysed Parliament for the last five days.
In the Lok Sabha too, Trinamool Congress was aggressive on the issue with some of its members, including Mr Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, storming the well and raising slogans “FDI hai, hai (FDI down, down).’’
In fact, TMC and the Left parties became strange bedfellows as regards the protest as the members of CPI(M) and some Left parties also stormed the well protesting against the FDI decision.
Union Minister, Mr Farooq Abdullah, who is the president of National Conference, did not speak to reporters after the meeting. But the party is with the government.
DMK was present in the meeting but its leaders did not speak to the media.
DMK MP, Mr Tiruchi Siva, later said the question of vote in Parliament on the issue does not arise now now.
“We have conveyed our views on the FDI explicitly and the question of vote does not arise now,” he said.
The Prime Minister is discussing the issue with parties and the DMK has conveyed its views on the FDI issue already in the all-party meeting, he added.
Yesterday the DMK chief, Mr M. Karunandihi, who had strongly opposed the FDI in retail decision, had said that the party would decide on how to vote on the adjournment motion when the issue comes up.