New Delhi, July 16
As relations between the Congress and the Left parties hit a rough patch, CPM leader Harkishen Singh Surjeet called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today in an effort to "clear the air" and ensure better coordination in future.
This meeting was scheduled earlier but since it came a day after senior CPM Politburo member Sitaram Yechury's public threat to the UPA government, it also helped to sort out their differences.
Official sources said a mechanism of consultation between the Left and the UPA would soon be put in place with the constitution of a coordination committee. A UPA coordination committee, comprising representatives of the Congress and its partners in the government, is already functioning. The Left parties are not represented on this panel as they are not members of the UPA. Hence, the need for a separate panel to ensure smooth functioning between the UPA and the Left.
The need to constitute such a panel at the earliest was realised on both sides following Mr Yechury's interview to a television channel in which he asked the government to reconsider its proposals on hiking the FDI in insurance, telecom and civil aviation sectors or face the consequences.
While all contentious issues will be sorted by the coordination panel, it appears that the proposed insurance Bill could eventually be referred to a parliamentary standing committee which will allow more time to the government to sort out the differences.
As regards the opposition to the FDI hike, UPA sources said the Left had been told about the proposals before the Budget.
