The Congress decided not to share the stage at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi when Anna Hazare called all the political parties to participate in an open debate on the Lokpal Bill. Now the party also seems to have decided not to take part in an event in which Anna is to be honoured. The matter came to light when a prominent news channel organised its annual event to honour people from various fields. Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar was to have been the chief guest. But neither Meira Kumar nor any ministers attended. Only a lone Congress leader, Sanjay Singh, attended and defended his presence strongly.
Pawar says no
NCP chief and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has some reservations on the proposed Food Security Bill. If insiders are to be believed, it has something to do with local body elections in Maharashtra. It is said that Pawar is unhappy with the way local Congress leaders behaved in the poll. Though the Congress-NCP combine won over two-third of the bodies, the Congress did better than the NCP. Some local NCP leaders alleged that some local Congress leaders worked to ensure the defeat of NCP candidates in key areas. This forced Pawar to give a strong message to the Congress by showing his dissent on a Bill considered close to Sonia Gandhi's heart.
Reform Bills at bay
BJP-led standing committees seem to have only one agenda: exhibit strong reservations about all reform-related Bills. The reports on banking and insurance Bills showed this. Now the Finance Ministry is concerned about the Direct Taxes Code Bill and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill. Officials say they are not sure what the Standing Committee will recommend. The Government is not bound to accept any of the recommendations but the real question is passage in Parliament. The Government does not have enough support on its own to get the Bills passed. So, amendments will have to be conceded. Then the original purpose of reforms would be lost.
It's in the timing
Timing is important not just in cricket but politics too. Everyone has been talking about FDI in multi-brand retail, except for Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Manmohan Singh. There was much speculation on their silence. A few days ago, Manmohan Singh suggested that it be done after the UP elections. Rahul Gandhi, too, spoke in favour of FDI at an election rally in Uttar Pradesh.
The timing was appropriate. With the PM going on a foreign tour, these remarks would draw the attention of the international media. On the other hand, Rahul Gandhi was on tour in the potato belt where, because of low prices, farmers had no option but to throw their crop on the road. Rahul Gandhi used this wastage as an opportunity to explain the importance of FDI.