Govt earns BJP praise for its 'flexible attitude'

Towards the end of a session that has seen many instances of coordination between the Centre and the principal opposition party BJP — such as the passage of the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill in the lower House — BJP leaders acknowledge the government has made some positive gestures this time round.

Towards the end of a session that has seen many instances of coordination between the Centre and the principal opposition party BJP — such as the passage of the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill in the lower House — BJP leaders acknowledge the government has made some positive gestures this time round.

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"The government has opened communication channels with the Opposition," said Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj.

"The government has tried to accommodate the principal opposition party as far as possible."

The examples are many.

"Prithviraj Chavan's flexible attitude was crucial for the agreement on the nuclear liability Bill," said a senior BJP leader. The central government also agreed to refer the NDMC Bill to the Standing Committee, as the BJP had desired.

Even on the Education Tribunal Bill, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal met BJP leaders Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj on Thursday.

While the BJP leadership was doubtful whether the power of the Centre to create tribunals covers the field of education, Sibal cited before Swaraj a 2002 Supreme Court judgment stating that it did.

Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid met Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley on the Enemy Property Bill — just like Chidambaram had done earlier, meeting both Advani and Jaitley.

However, the BJP has serious objections to this Bill, which, it says, is a U-turn on the Centre's Ordinance — that sought to overturn an apex court judgment in favour of the erstwhile Raja of Mahmudabad — under Muslim pressure.

On the proposed Goods and Services Tax too – where BJP-ruled states have serious issues – Pranab Mukherjee was regularly in touch with BJP, and had even requested it to call meetings of NDA state Finance Ministers.