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Reaching out : PM starts consultations with BJP, Left

	January 08, 2007

Heralding a new direction, the Prime Minister held separate meetings with top BJP leaders and Left functionaries to build consensus on important issues such as the India-US nuclear deal, strategy on Kashmir and banking and pension sector reforms.



On Tuesday, Jan. 2, the Prime Minister broke bread with the BJP’s top leaders at a luncheon. Dr. Manmohan Singh appears to have shed is distaste for politics or at least learnt to mask it. The luncheon meeting with the BJP leaders was described as a positive move by Congress circles and members of the Government. The opposition also reportedly appreciated the Prime Minister’s initiative to have discussions on important issues facing the nation, which is being seen as a major effort to mend strained relations with the Opposition.



Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha L.K. Advani and his counterpart in the Rajya Sabha Jaswant Singh were among those invited to the luncheon meeting. Also present was former National Security Advisor Brijesh Mishra.



Observers say that the meeting will go some distance in addressing the BJP’s complaint that the UPA Government does not consult the Opposition and also secure for the Prime Minister a cushion as he works on the Kashmir issue.



The Prime Minister, who regards the Kashmir initiative as a high point of his tenure, does not want the BJP to accuse his Government of a sellout or otherwise say or do something that might hurt his efforts at finding a solution. He put the subject on top of the agenda for talks with the BJP brass. Now even if the BJP protests, it can’t claim it was in the dark.



The party’s loud protests against the Sachar committee’s report haven’t cut much ice with Singh, who remains firm about implementing the recommendations. “That is why he ignores the BJP’s incessant campaign of minority appeasement and stresses from every possible forum the need for an inclusive growth,” a source said.



But the Prime Minister’s near-perfect balancing act was on the Singur land row. He made it clear he was on the side of chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee in the ideological battle and then, when things appeared to be getting a little out of hand, wrote to Mamata Banerjee to call off her fast, which she did.



The result: Bhattacharjee, his most trusted ally in the Left, was happy and so was the West Bengal Congress, which didn’t want him to be seen as too anti-Mamata. Also, Singh’s stand on reforms was not compromised.



The Prime Minister had the luncheon meeting with the BJP leaders reportedly with the full backing of the Congress Working Committee (CWC). At its meeting on Dec. 12, the CWC supported Dr. Manmohan Singh on dialogue with Pakistan, but suggested that he should try to evolve a national consensus on the issue, given the BJP’s opposition.



External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan, Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary T.K.A. Nair and Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon assisted Dr. Singh at the meeting with BJP leaders.



The highlight of the interaction was, as described by a participant, a tour de force by Mr. Mukherjee of the geo-strategic situation in the immediate neighbourhood. He gave an update on the developments in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan.



Dr. Singh invited the Opposition leaders to share their ideas and suggestions.



From the BJP side, Jaswant Singh did much of the talking, with support from Brijesh Mishra. There was no substantial disagreement, neither was any radical idea proposed by the BJP.



It is learnt that there was no discussion on Kashmir or Pakistan’s recent proposals. However, there was an exchange of ideas on President Pervez Musharraf.



The civilian nuclear deal with the United States also did not come up for discussion.



The Prime Minister and his colleagues had discussed the agreement, individually and collectively, with political parties.



It is learnt that the Government was encouraged by the positive tone and tenor of the interaction.



A day after the Prime Minister discussed foreign policy issues with senior BJP leaders, Leader of Opposition. L.K. Advani hailed Manmohan Singh’s initiative and expressed the hope that diplomatic engagement with Islamabad will yield positive results.



In an interaction with Stanford students, who met him at his residence, Advani called Manmohan Singh’s invitation to him and his party colleagues for a lunch discussion “good gesture”, and recalled that the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee moved ahead with the peace process after Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s assurance to India on cross-border terror.



Since the bomb explosions in Mumbai and Malegaon last year, the BJP has been opposing resumption of dialogue with Pakistan.



In his address to the party’s national council in Lucknow on Dec. 24, Advani even alleged that the Government was planning a “major surrender” on Kashmir as he cited Singh’s response to Musharraf’s four-point formula to resolve the issue.





Continue talking to Pakistan : CPI(M)



The Prime Minister had a similar luncheon meeting with CPI(M) leaders on Saturday, Jan. 6. It was attended by CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat and politburo member Sitaram Yechury. The CPI(M) leaders later said that they asked the UPA Government to continue the peace process with Pakistan and work for a breakthrough in areas where agreement could be reached.



External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee briefed the CPI(M) leaders on the situation in India’s neighbourhood in the context of the meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) scheduled to be held in India in April.



Karat said the Government expressed concern over the situation in Bangladesh where the Awami League-led 14-party alliance had decided to boycott the general elections and the army was standing by.



In Sri Lanka, the concern was that any escalation in violence in Tamil areas would have an impact on India in the form of refugees. The suggestion was that efforts should be made to get the Liberation Tigers for Tamil Eelam back to the negotiating table.



On the situation in Nepal, the Government was watching the transition towards Interim Government, and the arrival of United Nations officials for putting in place the machinery for the agreements including arms control.



Mukherjee said he was going to Pakistan with an invitation for President Pervez Musharraf to the SAARC meeting.



Yechury said there was no mention of the Indo-US nuclear deal or the execution of the former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein at the meeting. He said the meeting was just to apprise the CPI(M) of the Government view and to get the party’s stand. No decisions were to be taken.



A day earlier, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee met CPI(M) leaders Prakash Karat and Sitaram Yechury on Friday, Jan. 5, to find common ground on pension and banking reforms. The Government is keen on arriving at a compromise formula which will enable introduction of the pension and banking reforms bills in the Budget session of Parliament.





According to sources, the way ahead for the Pension Bill would be worked around the two major sticking points : the quantum of pension and the premium amount. So far, the Government has told the left that the monthly pension at half the average monthly pension based on the last three years’ salary, as the Left has demanded, based on the existing format, would not be possible. The Left, in turn, has turned down the Government proposal for a higher premium for it to consider the demand for pension as per the present practice.



Sources said, he two sides were working on ways to find a meeting ground on these two premises. The Government has been enthused to enter into direct negotiations on the Pension Bill with the CPI(M), after they indicated a willingness to consider the Government’s proposal during the UPA-Left meeting last October.