Amidst strains between the two, Congress ally Trinamul Congress has said there was no question of compromise on the Lokayukta provision, pension bill and FDI in retail if there was a move to pass them in the Budget Session of Parliament.
“Lokayukta clause should be omitted from the original bill. Trinamul Congress wants Lok Pal. The Trinamul Congress is not going to compromise on the federal structure of Constitution,” Trinamul Congress general secretary Mukul Roy who is a close aide of party chief Mamata Banerjee, said.
Maintaining that the Lokpal was not an isolated issue, Mr Roy, the Union minister of state for shipping, felt it was not proper to concentrate power in the Centre’s hands while the state’s rights should be “recognised”.
He noted that the Central List, Concurrent List and the State List had clearly defined subjects and there were no grey areas.
“Lokayukta is a state subject. It is better that the states should be free to decide on Lokayukta”, he said. He said that his party would also not compromise on FDI in retail and the pension bill, which was in its election manifesto, if there was a move to pass them in the budget session of Parliament.
“On issues that will directly hit the common man we will not budge from our opposition. There is no common minimum programme. In a coalition there are bound to be differences,” he said.
With Trinamul Congress being the second largest constituent in the UPA government with 19 Lok Sabha members, Mr Roy said that the party’s strength in the Rajya Sabha was likely to increase as five sitting Rajya Sabha members from Bengal, including four from Left parties, were due to retire in April this year.