For politics’ sake, Govt may not alienate Left on Pension

The government’s thinking on the issue is guided more by long-term politics than immediate economics, senior Congress leaders who did not wish to be named told The Indian Express.

They pointed out that not only was the Left a key ally of the UPA but the government was particularly pleased that it has been able to pass the bill after ‘‘extremely tough negotiations.’’

Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee alone ‘‘spend 40 hours’’ with Left leaders going over the bill amendment by amendment, word by word over the past few days, sources said.

The CPI(M), which was on the forefront of the talks (causing some heartburn among Left allies), is equally pleased with the outcome. ‘‘It is an excellent bill which has the potential of being the best legislation not only in India but all over the developing world within the TRIPs constraints,’’ CPI(M) MP Nilotpal Basu said. The bill, after amendments, reflect the views not just of the left but a range of experts and ‘‘will strengthen our struggle for the renegotiations of TRIPs if not revocation at the internal level,’’ Basu added.

Given this feel-good mood, the government is averse to passing the pension bill even though the BJP-led NDA has publicly offered to back it. BJP spokesman V.K. Malhotra told reporters today that the government had allayed the party’s fears that the bill may affect the “assured income” that employees gain from the current pension scheme.

The government explained that as per the provisions of the bill, employees had three options of investing their pension funds—government securities, banks, and markets. Employees were free to weigh the risks and make a choice.

‘‘Since it was our bill and no changes are being brought, we will support the bill,’’ Malhotra reiterated to The Indian Express later in the evening. He said the proposal of sending it to the Standing Committee had not come up for discussion so far but indicated that the BJP would have no objection on that ground either. The BJP’s official support notwithstanding, sections in the Congress fear that the opposition could ‘‘ditch’’ the government if the Left insisted on a division if the bill comes up for voting. Although the NDA may not have any problems with the legislation, it may be tempted to politically embarrass the government and endanger it on a money bill.

BJP sources also confirmed that party leaders were quite sore at the manner in which the government treated them on the Patents Bill. Last week, Union Commerce Minister Kamal Nath called on BJP chief L.K. Advani to seek the NDA’s support for the Patents Bill. Advani had told him that the NDA wanted the bill to be sent to the standing committee. The minister then promised to consider the suggestion and get back to him.

However, following successful negotiations with the CPI(M), the government did not bother to contact the BJP leadership. Yesterday, when support from the Left seemed a little shaky because of the wording an amendment, the government once again turned to the BJP. By this time though, the miffed BJP leadership stuck to its guns on sending the bill to the Standing Committee. A senior BJP leader said, ‘‘We were initially inclined to support the pensions bill but after the way the government behaved on the Patents issue—they didn’t even have the courtesy to call back Advaniji—there is bound to be some rethink.’’

The Congress leadership has, therefore, decided not to take the risk of depending on the BJP at this juncture. Besides, even if the BJP stuck to its word, the Congress does not want to be seen to be joining hands with the opposition and confronting the Left, sources said. Unlike the Patents Bill whose passage was crucial because of international ramifications, there is “no such urgency” on the pensions bill. If the ordinance lapses, it could involve a loss of face for the finance ministry “but that is not a consideration in the larger scheme of things,” a Congress leader said.

‘‘We are not in a tearing hurry and would like to evolve a broad-based consensus before passing the bill,’’ he added, indicating that the inter-session recess could serve as a useful breather to negotiate with the Left again.