New Delhi: The government today said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh may intervene on missing coal allocation files, a major concession to the Opposition at a time it is desperate to pass its ambitious Food Security Bill.The monsoon session will also be extended by one more week till September 5, to enable the passing of key Bills that have been stalled due to incessant disruptions – mainly the Food Bill and the Land Acquisition Bill.

The developments followed a compromise formula worked out between the government and the Opposition, after which the ruling Congress relented on the BJP’s main demand to let the House run.”The government is ready for a discussion, the PM, if required, may intervene,” said Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla in the Rajya Sabha, in the presence of a silent Prime Minister, who was relentlessly targeted by a united Opposition on missing files related to the allocation of coal blocks to private companies at throwaway prices

In the Lok Sabha, the government said the PM would speak after the Coal Minister.The opposition alleges some of the missing coal files were from the time the PM was in charge of the coal ministry.The government had earlier dismissed the Opposition’s demand. “The PM is not a custodian of files. He does not sit in store rooms, does not need to reply,” Kamal Nath had said in the morning.But despite the coal compromise, the Lok Sabha erupted over the suspension of 11 MPs from Andhra Pradesh – including seven Congress members – for their persisting protests against the creation of a new Telangana state. Ironically, it was BJP’s Sushma Swaraj, the Leader of Opposition in the lower house, who opposed the suspension.

Disruptions like this have stalled key measures like the Food Bill, which will lapse if it does not get Parliament’s approval in this session.

The landmark pro-poor scheme, which aims at providing highly-subsidised food to nearly 70 per cent of India’s population at a cost of some Rs. 1.25 lakh crores, is being seen as the Congress’s main lifeline as it seeks a third straight victory in national elections, due by May.

  Indian Parliament