Q: Is the UPA govt confident of passage of Food Security Bill in current session of parliament? Your own allies like DMK have expressed some reservation on the draft of the bill.
Tariq Anwar: The govt is trying to build a consensus on the bill. So far as the main opposition party BJP is concerned, they have assured the govt of their support for the bill. They will press for some amendments but they have also said that the bill is important and therefore they also want the bill to be passed through consensus. Similarly, parties like SP and DMK also have some reservations and the govt is trying to evolve a consensus on this bill.
Q: The opposition says you are in a hurry to get the bill passed because you want to take political mileage in upcoming elections.
Tariq Anwar: This is on UPA agenda for quite a long time. It was the part of UPA manifesto in 2009 elections. This is being debated for a few years now. In last session of parliament, this bill was to be introduced but since the opposition did not allow the parliament to function, it could not be done.
So far as political mileage is concerned, every political party or combination always tries to get political mileage in elections if they introduce such programmes and there is nothing unusual in it. But it will be wrong to say that this bill has been introduced for political benefits only.
