BJP firm on voting rule, blames govt for wasting House time

With Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asserting numerical majority on the issue of FDI in retail trade on Tuesday, the BJP sought to blame the government for wasting four days of Parliament on political maneuvering to secure the numbers.

"The PM has now said they have the numbers. Does this mean the government did not have the numbers till now? They have managed the numbers now. The government has instruments which it uses to change negative into positive. He could have done it ahead of the session through his agencies and saved these four days of Parliament," said BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain.

Suggesting political manipulation, Hussain added: "Jugaad karne mein Pradhan Mantriji ne sansad ka char din barbaad kiya."

The BJP, however, emphasised that it will remain firm on its demand for a discussion under a voting rule. "We want to expose parties that participated in the nationwide strike to protest against FDI in retail and how they change when the issue comes up for discussion in Parliament," said Hussain.

Earlier in the day, the BJP parliamentary party discussed the issue with senior party leaders L K Advani and Sushma Swaraj briefing party MPs about their deliberations with the PM and during the all-party meeting.

"Our leaders explained that the PM had accepted that the government may have erred in going ahead with FDI in retail, but urged them not to punish the country. Our leader, in return, said the decision itself was going to punish the country," confided a party MP.

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