Cong ready to talk to TMC,but stays firm on reforms

Shortly after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that her party would quit the UPA if her demands are not met,Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma told The Indian Express that there was no possibility of any rollback of the decision on FDI in multi-brand retail and the government would actually go ahead and notify it.

No,there is no question of rollback. We had consulted everyone before taking the decision. Even Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has said that it is good that it has been left to the states to implement it. I spoke to Mamata thrice. As per her wishes,we left it to the states. A decision has been made and we are going to notify it. We have acted in the larger national interest. It is good for farmers,consumers and small and medium enterprises, Sharma said.

Another senior UPA minister said that he met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh before Banerjee announced her decision and Singh told him there was no chance of going back on the new reform measures even if Trinamool pulled out as a turnaround would damage the credibility of the government.

The position was clearly backed by the Congress party. FDI decision was taken in national interest fully knowing its political fall out. I hope Govt would stand firm as it did in nuclear deal, Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh tweeted.

That the ruling dispensation was determined to break the policy paralysis at the Centre risking political costs was evident from the fact that Banerjee had conveyed her strong opposition to any move on FDI in multi-brand retail and the diesel price increase to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi four days back. The TMC chief had even threatened that it would have a bearing on the alliance. But she got no assurance from the Congress president.

Ahead of last Fridays Cabinet meeting when the government took the contentious decisions,the PM had sought to reach out to Banerjee but she apparently refused to come on line. At the UPA Coordination Committee meeting last month,as different ministers were making presentations on FDI in aviation and the retail sector,Banerjee had refused to budge saying she would discuss it with the Prime Minister.

On Tuesday,while Banerjee left some room for a last-minute compromise declaring that TMC ministers at the Centre would resign on Friday,there did not appear to be much scope for rapprochement unless the TMC chief relented on her opposition to the FDI policy.

Reacting to Banerjees announcement,Congress general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said that in a democracy,everyone,especially political parties,has a right to independent views. We have always treated Mamata Banerjee as a valuable ally and despite what she has said today,we will regard her as a valuable ally until the final outcome. She has raised some issues. Certainly,the government will discuss these issues, said Dwivedi.

As the TMC held its meeting in Kolkata to finalise the partys strategy vis-a-vis the UPA,Finance Minister P Chidambaram called on the Prime Minister to take stock of the situation. While maintaining that there is still some scope for negotiations with the TMC and some cosmetic corrections could be made,Congress sources asserted that Banerjee would no longer be allowed to hold the UPA government to ransom and the reforms were irreversible.

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