PM goes all out to woo key allies

[1]

Anticipating a showdown in Parliament over the government’s decision to allow 51 per cent foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh personally intervened on Thursday to pacify key UPA allies,

particularly the Trinamul Congress and the DMK, which have openly opposed the move.
In an apparent move to register Trinamul’s objections to FDI in retail, railway minister Dinesh Trivedi, the party’s seniormost representative in the government, is learnt to have skipped a meeting of the Union Cabinet which took place Thursday evening.
Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister met the floor leaders of his key coalition partners and explained to them the reasons for not rolling back the FDI decision. He also persuaded them to vote with the government in the event of a trial of strength on this issue on the floor of the House.
Besides the PM, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, the government’s chief troubleshooter, also met them to explain the economic realities and how important it was to raise FDI to bring the economy back on track with high trajectory growth.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, Trinamul parliamentary party chief (and Union minister of state) Sudip Bandopadhyay said the two leaders “explained to us” how the Cabinet took the decision in the midst of a difficult environment. Mr Bandopadhya made it clear his party’s opposition did not mean it would help destabilise the government.
The allies reportedly told the government that while they would support it in Parliament for stability, they would make it clear they would not implement it in their respective states.