Sugar row underscores political fragility

By Alistair Scrutton

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The routine reopening of the parliament has suddenly emerged as an awkward test for the Congress-led government's ability to push reforms such as price deregulation in the face of opposition from its rural base.

Tens of thousands of farmers from Uttar Pradesh protesting against low state sugarcane prices forced the postponement of the winter session of parliament on Thursday in a major political headache for the government, re-elected in May.

Now, a once-divided opposition seemingly unable to recover from election loss have vowed to disrupt parliament until the government reverses a policy aimed at bringing in more market forces to the sugar industry, one of India's biggest cash crops.

On Friday, the opposition forced an adjournment for a second day, with lawmakers running into the house shouting slogans.

The massive street protest that brought much of central Delhi to a standstill also reflected the fragility of political stability in India, with its myriad caste, class and ethnic issues always simmering among its 1.2 billion people.

"Such a display of opposition unity ... has rarely been seen outside parliament," The Economic Times commented on Friday. "The UPA government has only itself to blame for giving an issue to the opposition on a platter."

The ruling United Progressive Alliance coalition has given states greater autonomy in fixing sugarcane prices to help lift restrictions on the heavily regulated sugar sector and stop sugar mills bearing the fiscal brunt of subsidised prices.

But a backlash has played into hands of the opposition, including the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.