NEW DELHI: The attack on the government over alleged payments by US retail giant Walmart to lobby for access to the Indian market widened on Tuesday with even Congress's usually reliable outside supporter Lalu Prasad backing the Opposition demand for a judicial probe or a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC).
The Walmart affair united non-UPA parties and disrupted the Lok Sabha as parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath's assurance that the government is open to an inquiry and is concerned over reports of the firm spending $25 million on lobbying failed to assuage a combative Opposition.
With the government as of now unlikely to accept either a judicial probe or a JPC demanded by the Opposition, the forecast for Parliament on Wednesday seems as gloomy as Delhi's cold and wet weather. The government offer is expected to be on the lines of an investigation by an official agency and hopes to nip the protests.
Sources said the government's mind is not closed on the form of inquiry as it feels it has nothing to hide in the Walmart revelations. This is a matter involving the US firm and the government need not be defensive, official sources said.
The government's position is expected to be firmed up after consultations involving Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday morning parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath also spoke to leader of opposition Sudhma Swaraj on Tuesday evening.
Anything less than a judicial probe may not mollify the Opposition, raising prospects of the Lok Sabha being adjourned. BJP leaders made it clear that the party is not likely to settle for anything less than a judicial probe and will discuss its options at a party meeting on Wednesday morning.
The Rajya Sabha also functioned fitfully on Tuesday as attempts to move a bill on quotas for dalits and tribals in promotions ran into the Samajwadi Party's sustained opposition. In an attempt to forge an elusive consensus on quotas in promotions, Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari is meeting SP, BSP, BJP and Left along with parliamentary affairs ministers Kamal Nath and Rajeev Shukla on Wednesday.
Congress strongly rebutted the suggestion that Walmart's payments can cast a shadow over the government's decision to allow FDI in multi-brand retail, but the charge is damaging and party chief Sonia Gandhi's concern was evident as she prompted Nath to respond to the Opposition.
Both issues - Walmart's lobbying and the quota in promotion bill - are giving the government a migraine as it faces the likelihood of the week being consumed by protests without any progress on key reform bills dealing with banking, pension and insurance that it is keen to pass.
The Walmart row also gave BJP an opportunity to try and stage a comeback after the government comprehensively won the vote on FDI in multi-brand retail last week. The SP-BSP face off on the quota promotions has also proved a spoiler.
A dissatisfied Opposition renewed its onslaught when the House met in the afternoon with CPM, CPI, JD(U), BJD, TMC and SP demanding either a judicial probe or the setting up of a JPC to examine allegations of bribe giving.
In a rare convergence, the RJD chief agreed with BJP leader Yashwant Sinha in demanding a JPC to examine the implications of the disclosures made by Walmart and its ongoing investigation into the role of five of its officials, including some based in India.
Congress rejected the suggestion that Walmart's lobbying influenced the decision on FDI in multi-brand retail but the absence of senior ministers in the House gave the Opposition an open goal to shoot at. Finance minister P Chidambaram made a brief appearance while CPI's Gurudas Dasgupta noted that Nath was "notably absent".
The lack of response from the government saw Sinha warn that the House could not be expected to run unless the government clarified exactly what sort of an inquiry it was open to.
Congress MPs privately expressed their concern over the government's lack of response as they felt that allegations that the FDI policy is tainted by illegal payments is damaging and needs to be energetically countered.
In its official briefing, Congress stuck to the position that money was spent by Walmart in the US and this did not concern India. "The money is being spent from 2008 and the Opposition is being selective with facts," said Congress spokesperson Rashid Alvi.
Walmart row forges non-UPA unity
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Walmart row forges non-UPA unity
