New Delhi: Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said that she would not "compromise on principles and on anti-poor decisions". Referring to her 72-hour deadline to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance Government to rollback diesel price hike, remove the cap on subsidised LPG cylinders and disallow foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail, Mamata said that she would take the final decision after meeting her party MPs.
"We are clear. There can be no compromise on principles and on anti-poor decisions. I am ready for sacrifice for the sake of the poor of India. The final decision will be taken after consulting all Trinamool MPs," Mamata, whose deadline to the UPA ends on Tuesday evening, told CNN-IBN.
Even as the Congress tries for a suitable response to her threat, she said that her party's stand is clear and now it is for the government to act. "I am not in politics for a chair. We have made our stand clear, it is now for government to respond," said the Trinamool chief.
Meanwhile, Trinamool MP and Union Minister of State for Urban Development Saugata Roy said that his party was not against economic reforms, but was not in favour of FDI in multi-brand retail.
"FDI in retail will affect people in small retail business. Trinamool is not against reforms per say. I do not think these few steps will change the face of the Indian economy," said Roy.
Mamata not only wants the Rs 5 hike in diesel price to be withdrawn and the cap on subsidised LPG cylinders to go, she has also made it clear that FDI in multi-brand retail should not be allowed.
Sources say Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh are likely to speak to Mamata and convince her on need to raise diesel prices. The duo may agree to increase the cap on subsidised LPG cylinder to mollify the West Bengal Chief Minister.
The two decisions will also send out the signal that the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance Government has the political will to carry on with reforms, which will be to the liking of global rating agencies and markets.
But the options before Mamata are limited because even if he leaves the UPA, she is unlikely to go with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Mamata has a large Muslim constituency in West Bengal and if she is seen as going allying with the BJP, then her political opponents will get a very potent issue to target her.
Even the proposed Third Front that Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav is trying to cobble together is a potential minefield as it will have her sworn enemy - Left Front.
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