Furious over the government’s reform measures including FDI in retail and diesel price hike, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress’ supremo Mamata Banerjee might withdraw her ministers from UPA-II and provide support from outside, reports said Sunday.
Mamata yesterday set a 72-hour deadline, demanding the withdrawal of diesel price hike, capping of supply of subsidised LPG cylinders and the FDI in retail.
The government is however firm on its decisions, ruling out a roll back. The Prime Minister has even appealed to the nation to support the reform measures.
Warning the government over “anti-people” measures, Mamata said her Trinamool Congress party was ready to take hard decisions if the government failed to rollback FDI in retail and diesel price hike within 72 hours.
Expressing shock, she said: “Loot is going on in the country.”
“We cannot support price hike on diesel and reduction in subsidized LPG cylinders. Today, a decision has been taken allowing FDI in retail sector. It is a big jolt. We are really sorry,” Banerjee posted on her official Facebook page.
“We cannot support anything that is against the interest of the poor and common people. Loot cholchhe loot (Loot is going on in the country),” she said.
“Sometimes speech is silver and silence is golden. We are not party to it. We are not supporting these anti-people decisions. We are very much serious about these developments and ready to take hard decisions if these issues are not reconsidered,” Banerjee posted online.
Ending months of perceived policy paralysis, the UPA government yesterday pushed ahead with a slew of reforms by allowing 51 per cent foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail and opening up the aviation sector which triggered outrage among allies as well as the opposition.
The government clarified that states which did not favour 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail – which opens up India’s estimated USD 450 billion retail market to foreign supermarkets like Wal-Mart, Carrefour and Tesco – were free to not implement the policy.
The Cabinet also decided that overseas retailers setting up a single brand store in India must source at least 30 percent of their goods from Indian companies, preferably from micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Earlier it was mandatory for the overseas firms to source 30 percent of the goods from MSMEs.
While industry bodies welcomed the move, ally Trinamool Congress joined the angry chorus of the BJP and the Left to denounce the move, which the government insisted would not hurt India’s national interests.
BJP and Communist leaders called the decision a “betrayal” of the people’s interests.
“This is a complete betrayal, also of parliament,” BJP MP Balbir Punj said. Communist Party of India’s D Raja said a corruption-tainted regime was trying to salvage its image.
The BJP, whose opposition to the coal block allocations paralyzed Parliament’s Monsoon Session, vowed to unleash nationwide protests against the FDI unveiling.
Agencies