Sonia calls up Sushma over House logjam

With barely a week left of the monsoon session of Parliament, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi is learnt to have reached out to Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj in a last-ditch attempt to break the impasse.

While Swaraj was said to have reiterated her party's stand, the fact that the Congress president herself chose to take the initiative and call her up on Thursday indicated growing desperation in the ruling camp to carry on legislative business at a time when the UPA regime is perceived to be stymied by policy paralysis.

Sonia's initiative came even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ruled out any possibility of his resignation over the coal block allocations, a demand on which the BJP has stalled the functioning of Parliament for the past eight days. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal also rejected the BJP's demand for cancellation of coal block licences.

Sonia also met President Pranab Mukhrejee on Friday. Party sources said it was a routine meeting.

"She (Sonia) spoke to Sushmaji regarding the ongoing logjam in Parliament," a senior BJP leader told The Indian Express, adding that there is no change in the Opposition's stance so far.

After his return from Tehran on Friday, the Prime Minister also held confabulations with Sonia, who had earlier discussed the impasse with senior party leaders including Bansal, Leader of the Lok Sabha Sushil Kumar Shinde and her political secretary Ahmed Patel.

At the Congress Core Group meeting at the PM's residence in the evening, Shinde, Law Minister Salman Khurshid, Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal and Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal were also present. Incidentally, it was the first time that the new Home Minister was invited to the Core Group meeting.

Ruling party sources said if the Opposition relented "even from Monday", the government could consider extending the monsoon session to make up for the time lost due to disruptions.

ALSO READ

Time for change of government in Chhattisgarh: Digvijay Singh

Petrol, liquor, to become costlier in Bihar

JEE (Main) results for 2013 declared

AP minister's name in money laundering scam, Oppn seeks action