New Delhi:
It's all-out war in Parliament as the government tries to push through its flagship food security bill and the Opposition refuses to vote on it until the two ministers smeared by scandal - Ashwani Kumar and Pawan Bansal - are sacked.
As the Congress leadership struggles to find a way out of the mess, Sharad Pawar, Agriculture Minister and chief of key UPA ally - the Nationalist Congress Party or NCP - has taken up the mantle of mediator. Once opposed to the food bill himself, Mr Pawar has reportedly reached out to the Left and the BJP and is trying to work out a compromise and get the bill through.
Sources say Mr Pawar is keen on a discussion taking place on the bill and is likely to meet the Prime Minister regarding the matter.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who has been under attack from the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, today reached out to the BJP leader in Parliament and walked with one hand on her shoulder, ostensibly to win support for the bill's passage.
Opposition parties are adamant that the bill be amended to accommodate their demands. "We will demand for universal coverage under the proposed food security regime," senior CPM leader Sitaram Yechury said earlier today.
Many economically backward states have also opposed the bill in its present form. They are of the view that the poverty levels in different states must be taken into account before deciding on any exclusion ratios.
The National Food Security Bill aims to provide legal right over subsidised foodgrain to 67 per cent of the country's population and was a centrepiece of the ruling government's campaign in 2009.
If Mr Pawar manages to hammer out a consensus and facilitate the passage of the bill, it will be a major achievement for him and the government he supports. In the last two weeks since it reconvened after a recess, Parliament has seen only 10 hours of work done as the Opposition has disrupted proceedings over a slew of issues - the coal scam, Chinese incursion and the railway bribery case.