Pranab Mukherjee, Union Minister for Finance, informed L.K.Advani and Sushma Swaraj of the BJP and Sitaram Yechuri of CPI(M) that the government is going to put on hold, pending further discussions, the decision to allow 51% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail.
- Pranab Mukherjee
A formal announcement to the effect is expected to be made in the all-party meeting scheduled for Wednesday. It is possible that the opposition parties would insist on a total roll-back of the cabinet decision rather than the ‘hold-back’ being proffered.
The government’s idea is to hold the decision back and carry on further consultations in the matter; but the exercise may, given the ideological hardlines involved, amount to nothing more than horsetrading of sorts rather than convincing the opposition parties of the correctness of the decision to allow FDI.
It remains to be seen whether the government would succeed in the strategy to placate, for the time being, the opposition parties as well as Trinamool Congress and DMK who happen to be the major allies of the United Progressive Alliance in rule at the Center and avert the adjournment motion being mooted against the government – only to revive the cabinet decision about FDI at a more opportune time.
While the Government may survive the vote if an adjournment motion is pressed, the embarrassment that a vote against the government by its own allies – Trinamool Congress and DMK (and perhaps the NCP too) – can be acutely embarrassing and make the position of UPA and the government rather untenable. Hence the decision.
This issue – rather the comments made by some members of the Government and the UPA in regard to the issue and the demands of the opposition to roll the decision back – raises some important questions which are nothing short of disturbing.
The claim of Anand Sharma, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, that the opposition cannot “dictate to” the government seems to be correct in a sense – in an extremely narrow sense; but if it means that the opposition – and the people – should lie down and take it lying down no matter what the government shoves down their throats, well, he is very much off the mark. The opposition parties – and the people of whatever political party – have a right to voice their opinions and press their case by whatever means legally allowed. It has to be remembered that no government can consider itself to be beyond correction, opposition, reproach or reproof. Pressing an adjournment motion is one such perfectly legal tool.
Ambika Soni, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, is reported to have said: “We are not fighting shy of a full-fledged discussion in parliament, but every policy decision cannot be voted on as a censure motion in the House – it is an infringement of executive powers.” We doubt it. With all due apologies to Ms. Soni, we do think that any and every decision of the executive can be challenged by the legislature on whose behalf the executive functions and to whom it is accountable. So can the Executive’s decisions be challenged in a court of law subject to the due provisions of law. One thing is certain: the Executive does not have unfettered powers.
In any case, it is heartening that the all-party meeting on Wednesday is going to give the opposition parties an occasion to be heard afresh.
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