With more opposition than expected emerging in the meeting, the party had no option but to take this line, implying a long wait before the IRA Bill can be implemented. The Bill, however, is expected to be tabled in Parliament following which the BJP-led Government could either toe the Congress line or decide to vote on it quickly.

The BJP's decision to go in for passing the Bill could put the Congress in a dilemma, but since the BJP itself is divided on the Bill, the chances of it going to the Standing Committee are high.

Yet, the story of the day was the manner in which the Bill was opposed vehemently in the Congress meeting. Clearly, a large section of the partyleadership had chosen to adopt a political approach to the Bill instead of an economic one, overruling the suggestions of Manmohan Singh, Sharad Pawar and Pranab Mukherjee. All three are in favour of the IRA Bill.

A note from the All India Congress Committee circulated at the meeting said, ``In the national interest, the Congress must support this Bill and not delay it by insisting that it be referred to the Standing Committee. If the Government wants it referred to the Standing Committee, that is a different matter''. This is believed to be the stand adopted by Pawar, Singh and Mukherjee.

Around 40 people attended the meeting presided over by party president Sonia Gandhi, who herself said nothing on the Bill. And with most other senior leaders like Jitendra Prasada, Ahmed Patel, K Karunakaran, P A Sangma, Rajesh Pilot, Madhavrao Scindia and Madhavsinh Solanki, all Congress Working Committee members saying nothing much, it was left to the middle-level leaders to decide the immediate party line on theBill.

Of the others, S B Chavan, Hansraj Bharadwaj, Vyalar Ravi and Janardhana Poojari strongly opposed the Bill. Those in support of the Bill were Kapil Sibal, N K P Salve, Murli Deora, T Subbirami Reddy and former minister of state for Finance Rajashekara Murthy.

Kamal Nath and Shivraj Patil wanted the opening up of the reform sector to Indian companies first, while Santosh Bagrodia and Prithviraj Chauhan supported the Bill with reservations. The result: a three-line official statement which was read out rather glumly by Sharad Pawar.

It said: ``The Congress is committed to reforms in the insurance sector as part of the overall economic reforms. However, specific provisions of the Bill not only suffer from certain deficiencies but their operation requires in-depth study because of possible ramifications. It would therefore be appropriate that the Bill is referred to the Standing Committee on Finance for consideration and proper scrutiny.'' The statement itself took a long while to prepare indicatingthe struggle in the party.

On paper the Congress is talking of ``many'' provisions in the IRA Bill which are unsatisfactory but chose a few as examples. Like Section 19 of the Bill which allows the government to supersede and even dissolve the 10-member proposed IRA. ``There is no autonomy,'' Pawar added. Then there was Section 10 which says the LIC and the GIC will have to disinvest their capital and bring it down to 26 per cent within six years.

One other complaint is that the current IRA Bill is different from the one brought by former Finance Minister P Chidambaram in 1996. The BJP's Bill has incorporated the Insurance Act of 1938, the LIC Act of 1956 and the General Insurance Business Act of 1971. The Congress complaint is that the BJP is seeking to amend all the insurance Acts in the country and this requires more discussion.

Ravi also circulated a note at the meeting which details some ``shortcomings''. He says, ``The amendment suggested to the Insurance Act of 1938 is foreign equity of 26 percent and NRI, 14 per cent. Section 6 AA stipulates that every Indian promoter can hold only 26 per cent of paid up capital. Apart from taking away the monopoly of the LIC and GIC, the Bill stipulates privatisation of LIC and GIC, only 26 per cent capital for Indian promoters but 40 per cent for foreign companies.

``Our unconditional support may lead to a political fallout and it will create an impression that Congress is following pro-rich policies. BJP Government is trying to find an escape route from the impact of sanctions by appearing friendly to the US and MNCs. Why should we help them? So our party need not be anxious to pass this legislation. We must have a political approach to the issue. That will help the consolidation of forces opposed to the BJP's misrule.''

That is what the Congress has agreed to do today.