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Advani, Gadkari differ on special House session

Two senior BJP leaders oppose each other on FDI in retail sector
Last Updated 20 September 2012, 21:13 IST

Sharp differences have cropped up between BJP leaders L K Advani and Nitin Gadkari over convening a special session of Parliament to put the UPA government on the mat.

After TMC president Mamata Banerjee decided to pull out of UPA, L K Advani wanted that a special session of both Houses be convened since the government’s decision to bring FDI in retail was “breach of Parliament.”

Advani recalled that Pranab Mukherjee, during his tenure as the finance minister, and Commerce Minister Anand Sharma had said in both Houses that a decision will be taken on FDI after consultation with political parties. “Since they did not even consult the allies, leave alone the Opposition, they should be made accountable to Parliament,” Advani contended. However, at Thursday’s briefing, BJP chief Nitin Gadkari stated that he had a word with Advani on the special session, but did not clarify whether he was in favour of it.

Replying to questions on his opinion about the special session, Gadkari said: “Advaniji has already stated it and he is a bigger leader than me.” He also declared that the party was not in favour of moving a no-confidence motion against the government.

“We don’t think about pulling down the government alway. The party wants the Congress to die naturally,” Gadkari remarked. “If mid-term polls happen, we should not be blamed. It’s UPA’s own problem.”

According to sources, the BJP is reluctant to call for a special session of Parliament since the party is not confident of how the NDA partners, especially JDU and Shiv Sena, will respond in case of a trust vote.

JDU leader Nitish Kumar has announced that he will support any party that gives special status to Bihar. If the BJP fails, it will turn out to be a blessing in disguise for UPA, as was the case during the July 2008 no-confidence motion, which they managed to win and emerge stronger. However, it was later alleged that the Congress had “bought MPs.”

Though BJP is getting support from parties within NDA and non-UPA parties, their courtship has remained limited. For instance, they got the Left’s support for the Bharat bandh and the Biju Janata Dal and AIADMK, during the vice-presidential election.  
However, Mamata Banerjee has refused to join hands with BJP, since it may cost her the support of the minority communities in West Bengal.

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(Published 20 September 2012, 20:35 IST)

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