Mamata pulls out of UPA

To reconsider stand if Govt rolls back decisions

The Trinamool Congress led by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday pulled out of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre.

The decision of the Trinamool Congress is seen as a major jolt to the UPA as Mamata’s
party is the second largest constituent at the Centre after the Congress.

“We can’t be a party to anti-people decisions. We had expected the government to roll back its anti-people decisions. But the government decided against it. So we have decided that our ministers will submit their resignations to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday at 3 pm. We are withdrawing our support to the UPA-2 government,” Mamata told reporters after a four-hour meeting here.

However, she gave a lifeline to the UPA saying that her party would reconsider its decision if the government withdrew its move to allow FDI in multi-brand retail, cut down the increased diesel prices by at least Rs 3-4 per litre and raised the number of subsidised LPG cylinders per household to 12.

Mamata termed the decision “unfortunate” and said her party was not in favour of withdrawing its support to the Centre. “We wanted to stay but we were compelled to leave. The decision was taken unanimously by our party working committee members who attended Tuesday’s meeting,” she said.

Mamata alleged that the retail FDI was a “political ploy” by the Congress to divert the attention of the people. “They have gone for the decision on FDI in retail to divert attention from the coalgate scam. This government has lost its credibility. We are not at all bothered about losing the railway portfolio. Our biggest concern is the common man,” she said.

“The Congress does not think of the common people. Fifty per cent of the population is directly or indirectly involved with the retail market. Then who are they (Congress) trying to save? Where will the money go? Why are they not bringing back the black money? Where will these poor people go? Four days back I had a conversation with Sonia Gandhi.

I had sent a message to Soniaji. I personally requested her to reconsider the decision on allowing FDI in single brand and multi-brand retail, diesel price hike and LPG cap. But it yielded no positive results,” she said.

Mamata made it clear on Saturday that her party would take “hard decisions” if the UPA government “does not roll back the twin decisions of retail FDI and diesel price hike within a 72-hour deadline,” which ended on Monday.

She accused Congress leaders of making “personal character assassination” and carrying out a campaign of canards against her party. “They have badmouthed us so often. We have never done so,” she pointed out.

Mamata threatened to launch an intense campaign against the Congress throughout the country.

The decision was taken after a meeting of the parliamentary party in response to the Centre’s refusal to roll back the dual decisions of diesel price hike and retail FDI and not to yield to the pressure tactics of the Trinamool Congress.