The DMK, a key ally of the Congress-led UPA government, is keeping the Centre in suspense over its stand on any Opposition-sponsored resolution against FDI in multi-brand retail even as the CPI(M) tabled a motion that will seek a vote on the subject.
With just a week left for the Winter Session of Parliament to begin, DMK president M. Karunanidhi on Wednesday said his party’s stand on the FDI issue would be a “suspense”. After the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamul Congress quit the UPA in protest against its various reform measures, the DMK, the second largest ally in the UPA, has been dilly-dallying on the issue. The party has chosen to keep the Congress guessing by saying that it would take a decision when the bill on FDI in retail is introduced in Parliament.
At the same time, significantly, Mr Karunanidhi said his party would do its best to protect the interests of Tamil Nadu’s trading community. “Small and medium retail traders in the state are worried that FDI in retail would greatly affect them. Keeping their interest in mind, we will discuss and take a decision on this,” he told reporters here.
When asked why the DMK was maintaining suspense over the issue and whether it would support a no-confidence motion against the government, Mr Karunanidhi, also a well-known screenplay writer, said: “I have written the script for more than 100 films. A film would be successful only if it has suspense.”
To a question on whether the DMK would support the Left and some other parties’ proposed resolution with a provision for voting in Parliament on FDI, he said the party’s views would be made known after consultations with its parliamentary party members.
A senior DMK leader told this newspaper the party would not rock the UPA boat on the FDI issue but seek “some additional guarantees”.
“Notification has been issued to allow FDI in cities with a million population. Our leader feels we should seek additional guarantees to ensure that the traders in smaller cities and towns do not get hit by FDI. We are not so much worried about FDI in bigger cities, which already have large shopping malls,” said the DMK leader.
Union finance minister P. Chidambaram had held a significant meeting with Mr Karunanidhi on Monday though neither side has officially disclosed what they discussed.