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Trinamool firm on quitting, Congress says UPA safe; India Inc backs govt
Clean Media Correspondent
NEW DELHI/KOLKATA, Sept 19 (CMC) The Congress-led government on Wednesday refused to roll back its big ticket economic reforms, even as a belligerent Trinamool Congress remained adamant on quitting the ruling UPA.
With both sides declining to relent, a UPA-Trinamool divorce set for Friday was expected to go ahead. All Trinamool ministers in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government will resign that evening.
On Wednesday, amid political fireworks, India Inc told the government not to take back its decisions to hike diesel prices, allow FDI in multi-brand retail trade and cap the supply of subsidized cooking gas cylinders.
The government was, meanwhile, bracing for a nationwide shutdown called by the opposition Thursday.
Even the DMK, a UPA ally, has thrown its weight behind the strike.
Trinamool Congress leader and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said in Kolkata that her party was firm on leaving the UPA.
"We will not budge from our stand no matter what," she said at Writers's Building.
Minus her party's 19 MPs, the Congress-led government has been reduced to a working minority in the 545-seat Lok Sabha, increasing its dependence on the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
Despite Banerjee's unyielding stance, the Congress remained unfazed.
"These decisions were taken after the most careful consideration ... They stand," finance minister P Chidambaram said.
Commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma echoed the view.
"We are not going to go back on the decision as we do not believe in the word 'rollback', and this decision was taken after consultation with each and every state," he said in Ahmedabad.
Along with party colleagues Ambika Soni and Digvijay Singh, he expressed confidence that the UPA government will last its full term -- till 2014.
Ambika Soni said: "The UPA government is not in any danger." Digvijay Singh said: "(We) will carry on till 2014."
Congress sources admitted that its emissaries were in touch with Samajwadi chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and BSP supremo Mayawati, who command 22 and 21 MPs respectively and give legislative support to the government.
The Samajwadi Party is bitterly opposed to FDI in multi-brand retail.
The Left asked the government to roll back its economic decisions -- or quit.
"FDI in multi-brand retail trade is opposed by the majority in parliament," Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Prakash Karat said in New Delhi.
"So the government should not proceed with (these measures). If the government does not roll back these measures, it has no right to continue in office," he added.
India Inc backs govt
The industry asked the government not to roll back the reform measures aimed at kickstarting the sagging economy.
"The government should not roll back ... It will send a signal that the government is not capable of taking decisions," said RV Kanoria of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry ( FICCI).
Anand Mahindra and Kiran Mazumdar Shaw too asked the government not to give in to Trinamool.
The Congress, however, said that consumers in Congress-ruled states would get three more cooking gas cylinders at subsidized rate -- instead of the six announced last week.
Trinamool firm on quitting, Congress says UPA safe; India Inc backs govt
Clean Media Correspondent
NEW DELHI/KOLKATA, Sept 19 (CMC) The Congress-led government on Wednesday refused to roll back its big ticket economic reforms, even as a belligerent Trinamool Congress remained adamant on quitting the ruling UPA.
With both sides declining to relent, a UPA-Trinamool divorce set for Friday was expected to go ahead. All Trinamool ministers in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government will resign that evening.
On Wednesday, amid political fireworks, India Inc told the government not to take back its decisions to hike diesel prices, allow FDI in multi-brand retail trade and cap the supply of subsidized cooking gas cylinders.
The government was, meanwhile, bracing for a nationwide shutdown called by the opposition Thursday.
Even the DMK, a UPA ally, has thrown its weight behind the strike.
Trinamool Congress leader and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said in Kolkata that her party was firm on leaving the UPA.
"We will not budge from our stand no matter what," she said at Writers's Building.
Minus her party's 19 MPs, the Congress-led government has been reduced to a working minority in the 545-seat Lok Sabha, increasing its dependence on the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
Despite Banerjee's unyielding stance, the Congress remained unfazed.
"These decisions were taken after the most careful consideration ... They stand," finance minister P Chidambaram said.
Commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma echoed the view.
"We are not going to go back on the decision as we do not believe in the word 'rollback', and this decision was taken after consultation with each and every state," he said in Ahmedabad.
Along with party colleagues Ambika Soni and Digvijay Singh, he expressed confidence that the UPA government will last its full term -- till 2014.
Ambika Soni said: "The UPA government is not in any danger." Digvijay Singh said: "(We) will carry on till 2014."
Congress sources admitted that its emissaries were in touch with Samajwadi chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and BSP supremo Mayawati, who command 22 and 21 MPs respectively and give legislative support to the government.
The Samajwadi Party is bitterly opposed to FDI in multi-brand retail.
The Left asked the government to roll back its economic decisions -- or quit.
"FDI in multi-brand retail trade is opposed by the majority in parliament," Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Prakash Karat said in New Delhi.
"So the government should not proceed with (these measures). If the government does not roll back these measures, it has no right to continue in office," he added.
India Inc backs govt
The industry asked the government not to roll back the reform measures aimed at kickstarting the sagging economy.
"The government should not roll back ... It will send a signal that the government is not capable of taking decisions," said RV Kanoria of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry ( FICCI).
Anand Mahindra and Kiran Mazumdar Shaw too asked the government not to give in to Trinamool.
The Congress, however, said that consumers in Congress-ruled states would get three more cooking gas cylinders at subsidized rate -- instead of the six announced last week.
ReplyDeleteMamata has shown the guts and championed the cause of poor!