Opposition deal on floor coordination

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, NOV. 26. Signalling the closing of ranks among the Opposition in Parliament, the Congress today joined hands to seal a pact on ``effective floor coordination'' in taking on the BJP- led National Democratic Alliance Government.

Significantly, the Congress president, Ms. Sonia Gandhi, broke bread with the Samajwadi Party chief, Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav, and the Nationalist Congress Party president, Mr. Sharad Pawar, at a dinner hosted by the CPI(M) parliamentary party leader, Mr. Somnath Chatterjee, here at his residence.

The coming together of Congress and the SP, whose president was bitterly opposed to Ms. Sonia Gandhi, in the backdrop of the coming U.P. Assembly elections was not lost. However, the SP chief insisted that the significance of tonight's meeting was limited to coordination among the Opposition in Parliament and did not extend to any understanding in U.P. In the U.P. Assembly elections, the SP would lead the Front which comprises the Left parties and the Janata Dal (Secular).

Both Mr. Chatterjee and Mr. Shivraj Patil of the Congress told correspondents that the Opposition leaders decided to raise issues in a coordinated manner. The issues included POTO, Ayodhya, Mr. George Fernandes' re-induction and the economic situation.

Mr. Chatterjee chose to act and bridge the gulf between the Samajwadi Party and the Congress created after Mr. Yadav virtually single-handedly stalled Ms. Sonia Gandhi's effort to form an alternative Government in 1999. In fact, efforts by the Congress president to bring together all opposition parties during the last session failed after the SP and other members of the People's Front stayed away from a meeting over tea organised by her.

Tonight's meeting was attended among others by the Front chairman, Mr. Jyoti Basu, the West Bengal Chief Minister, Mr. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the former Prime Minister, Mr. Chandra Shekhar, the Congress Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha, Mr. Shivraj Patil, Dr. Raghuvansh Prasad Singh (RJD), Mr. Ajay Chakraborty (CPI), Mr. Sanat Mandal (RSP), Mr. G.M. Banatwalla (IUML), Mr. Haribhau Mahale (JD-S), Mr. Amar Roy Pradhan (AIFB) and Mr. Simranjit Singh Maan (SAD-Amritsar). The AIADMK was not invited.

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