No panic for govt ahead of black money motion

With an adjournment motion on black money coming up in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, the Congress is taking no chances with the numbers and has asked its members and those of the allies and supporting parties to be present in the House on the day.

With an adjournment motion on black money coming up in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, the Congress is taking no chances with the numbers and has asked its members and those of the allies and supporting parties to be present in the House on the day.

HT Image

As part of a deal struck with the opposition, before the proposed FDI in multi-brand retail paralysed Parliament for nine consecutive days, the government had conceded its demand for an adjournment motion on black money.

In return, the opposition had dropped its insistence for a similar motion on price rise and agreed to a discussion on the issue under rule 193, which does not entail voting.

Though there is no visible sign of panic among government managers, they are working hard to keep their numbers ready because an adjournment motion is similar to a no-confidence vote.

The wording of the motion on black money, to be moved by senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader LK Advani and Left leaders, has been changed to accommodate the government’s sensibilities. The notice would call for an adjournment motion to discuss "the situation arising out of the money deposited illegally in foreign banks and action being taken against guilty persons".

The relaxed mood in the Congress camp is due to the fact that its allies are on board on the issue and the government managers are also counting on the possible abstention from the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party, which extend outside support to the United Progressive Alliance government. The Left is expected to walk out at the time of voting.

Parliamentary affairs minister Pawan Kumar Bansal is learnt to have spoken to the leaders of alliance partners on ensuring presence of their members in the House.