The Trinamool Congress “definitely” does not want the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government “to fall” but it will also not budge from its stand against the move to allow foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail, party's chairperson and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Friday.
She conveyed her views on the matter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who had called her on the telephone earlier in the day asking her to re-consider the position taken by her on the issue.
“He asked me to re-consider our stand but I told him with due respect that we cannot support this issue [FDI in multi-brand retail], I am sorry….We have our problems [doing so] as I have to take a stand for the public,” Ms. Banerjee said.
The UPA is anxious over the prospect of an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha that entails voting on the issue and has turned for support to the Trinamool and the DMK — both opposed to the move.
But, in what might come as some relief to the government, Ms. Banerjee pointed out that she was “not in favour of toppling the government,” which she had supported “even though there have been many issues on which I have fought to the last.”
The move to allow 51 percent FDI in multi-brand retail was “a very sensitive issue,” she told journalists at Dankuni in Hooghly district, where she had gone to review developmental projects.
Ms. Banerjee, however, said that she was willing to discuss the FDI issue again with her party leaders. “But what we are saying is that the Centre withdraw its decision.”
Pointing out that the move would affect farmers and retail traders “as 50 per cent or our people are involved in this sector.”
“We have first to ensure the livelihood and the survival of the farmers. Then we can think about all this.” “This is our party policy and government [State] policy…it is there in our party manifesto,” she said, adding that the Centre could talk with its allies as well as all other parties if it was a financial compulsion that was forcing it to allow 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail. “We can then definitely discuss the issue and give our suggestion,” Ms. Banerjee added.
Support price
She also accused the Centre of failing to ensure an increase in the minimum support price for jute and creating problems for the farmers by de-controlling the price on fertilisers. “We are not responsible for this,” she asserted.