Published: Wednesday, Jul 28, 2010, 0:52 IST
By Harish Gupta | Place: New Delhi | Agency: DNA
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_number-crunch-upa-wary-of-adjournment-motion_1415657
The UPA government is worried. In the 544-member Lok Sabha, it has a comfortable majority, but when it comes to the issue of rising food prices, parties are reluctant to be seen supporting the government.
It is for this reason that the government is determined not to accept the opposition-sponsored adjournment motion and is willing to discuss and debate the price rise issue. The government does not want voting in Lok Sabha on the price rise, fearful of the risks involved.
The NDA and other opposition parties, who are often at loggerheads with each other, are united in their determination to press for an adjournment motion.
The numbers tell a different story. At present, the strength of the Lok Sabha is 544 with the recent demise of independent member Digvijay Singh.
The Congress has 208 members and its bigger supporters are the Trinamool Congress (19), DMK (18), NCP (9), National Conference (3), and Muslim League (2). It also draws support from five parties with a single member each, while the BSP (21) provides outside support. This gives the UPA 285 members.
The NDA has the support of 160 members, including five RLD members. The Left (24), SP (22), BJD (14), AIADMK (9), TDP (6), and RJD (4) have openly supported the adjournment motion. Altogether, this accounts for 239.
It must be noted that during the Budget session early this year, when a cut motion was brought by the Opposition, the BSP had supported the government and extracted a promise from the CBI that its viewpoint would be heard in the Supreme Court.
The Samajwadi Party and RJD had then abstained from voting on the cut motion, providing the UPA a huge relief and embarrassing the BJP.
But this time, the opposition parties have come together, though it is still too early to say whether they will actually vote against the government when it matters.
The worrying factor is the BSP, which, as of now, has decided to press for an adjournment motion. If the BSP sticks to its stated position, the opposition’s tally jumps to 260 while the UPA’s goes down to 264. The saving grace for the UPA could be the seven independent members and 11 MPs from smaller parties who might make the difference.
Yet, this extremely narrow margin is the reason why the government is unwilling to allow an adjournment motion.
It knows that mustering a comfortable majority will be a Herculean task for finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, leader of the Lok Sabha and the man who is perceived as the government’s
trouble-shooter.
