Cong eyes TMC as ally, steers clear of Singur

At an award ceremony for small industries, the Prime Minister had said a lot about need for industrial growth, but not a word was spoken about Singur and the disruption at the TATA Nano plant there.

The Prime Minister's silence speaks loudly about the dilemma within the UPA Government and Congress.

Pro-reform leaders like Dr Manmohan Singh and Commerce Minister Kamal Nath are uncomfortable with Ratan Tata's despair.

"The Centre can and will play a role if required and if desired to facilitate any discussion on the matter," Kamal Nath had said a few days earlier, but he was quickly and politely asked by his party to keep his thoughts to himself.

The fact is that the Mamata Banerjee factor is at play. Planning for Lok Sabha elections and looking for new allies, the Congress doesn't want to antagonise her.

So, despite Kamal Nath's offer of Central help to bail out both the Left government and the TATAs of the Singur mess, Congress has decided to play it safe and not get involved.

Science and Technology Minister, Kapil Sibal said, "It's for the state government to decide what they want to do and the state government should deal with the matter."

The split within the UPA Government and Congress party is once again wide open.

While Kamal Nath and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mujherjee feel too much is being given to Mamata, others like Kapil Sibal and Information & Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi feel that the party must be pragmatic.

It's not just about Mamata. It is also the pro-farmer image of the Congress which is at stake.

Riding high on the farm loan waiver issue, Congress prefers to side with the farmers and Mamata saying that their rights are more important and with this, there is also the added joy of seeing a squirming Left.

It seems as if politics is once again getting an edge over economics. So what if pro-reformists like the PM and Kamal Nath frequently pitch for industrialisation? They are aware that in times of rising inflation and with the party preparing for the Lok Sabha elections, it is politics which wins hands down.



Courtesy:ibnlive.com
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