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To mollify didi, forward contract bill put on hold
Extending an olive branch to its key ally Trinamool Congress ahead of the presidential and vice-presidential polls, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) deferred a crucial decision to give more power to the commodity markets regulator at the union cabinet meeting on Thursday.
Extending an olive branch to its key ally Trinamool Congress ahead of the presidential and vice-presidential polls, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) deferred a crucial decision to give more power to the commodity markets regulator at the union cabinet meeting on Thursday.
Approval to the amendments to the Forward Contract Regulation (Amendment) Bill was deferred after railway minister Mukul Roy— the Trinamool nominee in cabinet — wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last evening flagging his party's concerns on forward trading.
Trinamool holds forward trading as a crucial factor behind the rise of prices of food articles. Roy, who was absent from Thursday's meeting, also sought an opportunity to explain his party's stance in a future cabinet meeting.
Singh also spoke to Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday for her support for the upcoming elections and invited her for a UPA meeting on July 14 to finalise the ruling coalition's vice presidential candidate.
The Congress wants to see Banerjee —leader of the biggest UPA ally— on board for both the polls. Banerjee, too, has so far kept her options open after initially floating her own list of presidential candidates.
Trinamool boycotted the UPA's meet on presidential candidate but agreed to come for the July 14 meeting.
Last month, a similar letter from Roy had forced the union cabinet to drop a decision on amendments to the pension fund bill from its agenda.
The cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) also had to defer a key proposal: to offload 10.82% of the government's share from SAIL.
Steel minister Beniprasad Verma and steel secretary were in Japan on Thursday on an official tour.
Food minister KV Thomas, however, said the amendments to the Forward Contract Regulation Act (Amendment) Bill would be taken up later.
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