NEW DELHI, Oct 3: The United Front today shied away from taking a hard line on the Congress Working Committee resolution attacking its government at the Centre, with most leaders advocating a cautious response.Even though the hardliners in the Steering Committee, which met here this evening, favoured a fitting reply to the CWC resolution, Prime Minister IK Gujral managed to soothe their feelings by stating that he shared a ``perfect rapport'' with Congress President Sitaram Kesri.Both the Steering Committee and the Standing Committee of the UF at their meetings failed to clinch the issue relating to the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS). The Left parties reiterated their demand for raising the quantum of foodgrains supplied under the scheme to people below the poverty line to 20 kg a month without increasing the issue price.Finance Minister P Chidambaram, who has been opposing the proposal, however did not take any position on the issue today. He briefed the meeting about the options outlined in the report of the six-member committee. The matter is likely to be discussed again at an informal meeting of UF leaders tomorrow.United Front Chairman H D Deve Gowda expectedly wanted the meeting to formulate a response to the CWC resolution which he felt had been too harsh on the performance of the UF government. He was joined by Left leaders Harkishen Singh Surjeet, Sitaram Yechury and D Raja.It was clear after the meeting that the hardliners were not happy with the Steering Committee's and Prime Minister's ``dispirited response'' to the Congress' attack. A senior leader said that ``this cannot be the response of a person with any semblance of self-respect.''Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Yechury said that there was concern among UF leaders about the Congress' criticism of the government. ``We don't agree with the Congress' perception that the coalition experiment has failed altogether. The government has performed well given the constraints and the coalition era is here to stay,'' he added.Briefing reporters, UF spokesman S Jaipal Reddy also said that the Front did not agree with the Congress that the coalition governments have failed in the country or that they can be avoided. In fact, all three major political formations have coalition arrangements at one level or the other which reinforced the view that the country has entered the coalition phase.Asked about the UF's feeble response to the CWC resolution, he said: ``I don't want to match anybody in colourful phraseologies. We are not silent but a comprehensive response was not possible in such a short meeting.'' He went to add that such resolutions of a supporting party were taken with due seriousness.Steering Committee members wanted the Prime Minister to sort out the matter with the Congress chief. Gujral is learnt to have responded by saying that he was in constant touch with Kesri.The meeting, Reddy said, did not discuss the references to the interim report of the Jain Commission of Inquiry in the CWC resolution.
