The Manmohan Singh government took a calculated gamble in pushing forward major economic and reforms initiatives to shake off the policy paralysis on the assessment that the three key supporting pillars of the UPA Trinamool Congress from within and SP and BSP from outside will not be able to make common cause in rocking the UPA boat. The government on Saturday looked determined to stick to its course as political managers ruled out any rollback,notwithstanding the threat by Mamata Banerjee that her party would take hard decisions at the end of their 72-hour deadline. Yet,it was also evident that the Congress leadership may try to placate the Trinamool Congress,its second largest ally in the UPA,by offering her a reworked financial package for West Bengal. State Finance Minister Amit Mitra is slated to meet Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram around September 20,though sources conceded that the Trinamool may skip the meeting should it up the ante. Congress managers were of the view that Mamatas options are limited and she will be forced to stay within the ruling coalition as her party will not be able to work in tandem with the SP and BSP. Mamata would not have forgotten the embarrassment during the presidential election,when SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav dumped her to side with the Congress,forcing her to fall in line and vote for Pranab Mukherjee. Any coordination between the SP and BSP,on the other hand,is not possible for obvious reasons,Congress managers said. The decisions aimed at firing the economy,sources said,were also based on the broad calculation that it was the most opportune moment given that political parties would have switched to election mode next year and it would be much easier for allies to pull the plug at that stage. The sources said an attempt was made a few months earlier to push the reforms agenda through the consensus route but the allies refused to play ball. The issues of price hike as well as FDI in retail was discussed with alliance partners and we did seek their opinion,both at individual level as well as at the level of UPA coordination committee, said a senior minister. What can one do if the Trinamool Congress chooses not to send its representative to the CCPA or CCEA meetings, he added.
