Congress to face the heat in Parliament

New Delhi: The opposition will gang up on the Congress-led government for failing to rein in rising prices in the short winter session of parliament, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said on Monday, launching a motion that some analysts say could destabilise the ruling coalition.

In a sign the opposition will not let up on a strategy of disrupting parliament to prevent the government passing key legislation, both left-wing parties and the right-of-centre BJP will back the motion.

"We will support the left parties on their adjournment motion,” senior BJP Rajya Sabha MP S. S. Ahluwalia told reporters on Monday. He said the party will present another motion against the government related to corruption.

Already reeling from graft scandals and a troubled economy, the Congress party-led coalition government would be severely weakened if its allied parties broke ranks on the issue of prices.

Earlier this month, the Congress party's most important partner, the Trinamool Congress, threatened to abandon the coalition after the government hiked fuel prices despite inflation running at over 9 percent for nearly a year.

A senior adviser admitted on Saturday that over-optimistic forecasts about bringing down inflation had hurt the government's credibility.

Successive interest rate rises have done little to dent prices that economists say are driven by supply bottlenecks.

The government may soon decide to allow chains such as the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc, to operate in the country with a majority stake, a move to boost the flagging economy and possibly help lower inflation.

Ahluwalia said the BJP would oppose the retail reform, which is unpopular with small shop owners that make up more than 90 percent of India's $450 billion retail sector.

Analysts say the opposition will struggle to win majority support for the anti-government motions, although it will still disrupt proceedings and slow legislation on food subsidies and mining that the government wants to pass before five state elections next year.

"An adjournment motion if it is passed is quite a serious matter," said political analyst Swapan Dasgupta.

"After that the government would be obliged to seek a confidence vote, the government doesn't fall but it becomes very difficult."