Trinamool to decide Tuesday on withdrawing support to UPA

The Trinamool Congress Sunday said it would take a decision Tuesday on withdrawing from the UPA government and instead extending outside support to it to express unhappiness over its "anti-people" decisions. The party is against FDI in retail and a hike in diesel price.

Trinamool leader Kunal Ghosh said party chief Mamata Banerjee has convened a meeting of the parliamentary party Tuesday to take a final call in this regard.

"We have opposed the anti-people decisions taken by the government and Trinamool parliamentary party will meet on Tuesday. We will review the situation and take appropriate decision," Ghosh told a TV channel.

Upset over the government's reform measures including allowing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in retail and the Rs.5 a litre diesel price hike, Banerjee had Saturday given a 72-hour deadline to the central government to rethink or face a "tough decision".

Her party is an important constituent of the ruling United Progressive Alliance.The government Friday decided to allow up to 51 percent foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail, which Banerjee has been fiercely against.

Ghosh said the party was keeping all its "options open".

Meanwhile, Rashid Alvi, Congress spokesperson expressed confidence of sorting out the matter with the Trinamool chief.

"It is an internal matter, Mamataji is a respected cadre of the government, we do not want to make any comment. Even if we have some differences we will sort it out," he said.

TMC has 19 MPs in the Lok Sabha and six ministers in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the centre.