Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s efforts to iron out differences over contentious issues including FDI in retail failed to bear fruit as the logjam persisted in Parliament on Friday.
While Lok Sabha was adjourned till Monday, the Lokpal draft report was tabled in the Rajya Sabha amid din. The house was later adjourned till 2.30 pm.
An all-party meeting to break the logjam is also scheduled for Monday.
The Prime Minister had yesterday invited top BJP leaders for dinner and hoped that the opposition party will soften its stand but the initiative appears to have failed as the Opposition party insisted on discussion in the house over the issue under rules that entail voting.
The BJP said the government had not kept its promise of evolving consensus on FDI in multi-brand retail by consulting chief ministers and political parties.
The government has maintained that an executive decision cannot be a subject for debate under a rule that entails voting.
It has also denied having violated its assurance to bring about a consensus.
BJP leader LK Advani, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley were among those present at the dinner.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath and Finance Minister P Chidambaram were also present during the government`s dinner diplomacy with the BJP.
Besides the BJP, the Left parties also want discussion on FDI in multi-brand retail under parliamentary rules that entail voting.
The Opposition senses an opportunity to embarrass the government as some of its allies and supporting parties had earlier opposed the FDI in multi-brand retail.
The Samajwadi Party said it was opposed to the FDI decision but would convey its decision in the house if there was voting. The Bahujan Samaj Party said it would convey its stance once a decision was taken on the rules of discussion. The DMK also spoke of revealing its stand in Parliament.
The BJP also said it would take a call on moving a no-confidence motion after it succeeded in pressing the government for discussion on FDI in multi-brand retail under rules that entail voting.
With IANS inputs
