The Manmohan Singh government will have no right to continue in office if it does not roll back its “anti-people measures’’ such as allowing Foreign Direct Investment in retail and hiking diesel price, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) said on Wednesday.
“None of these have the support of parties across the political spectrum. It is clear now with the stand taken by the allies of the Congress in the United Progressive Alliance that a majority of the members of Parliament are against these policies,’’ general secretary Prakash Karat told journalists here.
“The Congress-led UPA government does not have the mandate or the right to push ahead with these policies.” The CPI(M) would intensify its struggle get these measures reversed.
Mr. Karat said the UPA government was plunged into a crisis after the Trinamool Congress decided to withdraw from the government and the UPA. Asked whether the CPI(M) would move a no-confidence motion against the government, he said, “We will review and consult with other parties after tomorrow’s [Thursday’s] protest action and then take a decision.”
He indicated that there were several options, saying the BJP had also demanded a special session of Parliament and asked the government to seek a vote of confidence.
Mr. Karat said the UPA government had tried to bring FDI in retail last November but did not proceed with the move owing to opposition and stated then that it would work for consensus. “But there has been no change since then. In fact, more parties have come out against FDI in multibrand retail. This means that today in Parliament a majority of parties are against opening of retail to FDI. So the government has no mandate or the right to proceed with it.”
