Kolkata/New Delhi, Dec 3 (IANS) The central government has decided to keep on hold its decision to allow foreign equity in retail till a consensus emerges on the issue, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said Saturday triggering reactions from opposition parties who said any such decision should be announced officially.
Banerjee, whose party has opposed the decision to allow foreign direct investment in retail despite being part of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA), said she had spoken to union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who had conveyed the decision to her.
‘I had telephonic conversations with him twice today (Saturday). He has told me that the centre has decided to suspend implementation of the decision to allow FDI in retail. He has told me that the decision will not be implemented unless there was consensus on the issue,’ Banerjee told media persons at the state secretariat, Writers’ Buildings, in Kolkata.
Mukherjee, however, did not comment on Mamata’s remarks.
‘I cannot announce anything. Parliament is in session. Any government decision will be made in Parliament,’ Mukherjee said at his south Kolkata residence hours after Banerjee’s announcement.
Banerjee said during the talks, the union minister asked for the opinion of her party Trinamool Congress – the second largest partner in the UPA with the DMK – to find a solution to the vexed issue.
The sudden announcement, coming a day after the government ruled out a roll back of the cabinet decision, took all by surprise.
Law Minister Salman Khurshid had said Friday the decision on allowing 51 percent foreign equity in multi-brand retail was well thought out but could not be taken back because the opposition was ‘shouting’.
Banerjee was all enthused. Describing it as a ‘big step’, she said: ‘The issue is now over. The issue is settled. It’s a pro-people decision.’
Banerjee said she also asked Mukherjee whether there was any possibility of the government implementing the decision later. ‘I have been told that there are no ifs and buts, unless there is a consensus, the decision will not be implemented.’
She denied she was bargaining for a special package from the central government as a pre-condition for Trinamool Congress’ support on the retail issue.
The Congress reacted ambiguously to Banerjee’s remarks, saying that all efforts should be made to resolve parliament impasse.
‘In such a situation, there is need for broad consensus,’ party general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said, apparently referring to the contentious debate on the FDI issue.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) asked the government to officially announce the decision.
‘Till we hear from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh or Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on this issue, it will not be appropriate for the BJP to react,’ BJP chief spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said in New Delhi.
‘Mamata is saying something on the basis of what the finance minister allegedly told her. Unless a formal comment is made by the PM or the finance minister, it would not be proper for BJP to react,’ Prasad said.
Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Gurudas Dasgupta said the prime minister needs to announce in parliament whether the government is keeping the decision to allow foreign equity in retail on hold.
‘I cannot comment. Let the government announce it. How do I know what is the official position,’ Dasgupta said, reacting to Banerjee’s announcement.
Asked whether the decision to hold the move to allow 51 percent foreign equity in retail was due to pressure from allies, Dasgupta said: ‘Don’t say there was pressure from allies alone… it was from the entire country.’
However, another UPA constituent, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) welcomed the announcement.
Party spokesperson D.P. Tripathi said the government’s decision to put ‘on hold’ the move to allow Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in retail was ‘correct’ and will pave the way for ending the logjam in parliament.
He said his party was ‘happy that one of the UPA allies had announced the decision’.
Nearly half of parliament’s 21-day-long winter session has been lost to protests mainly over government decision to allow FDI in retail. Apart from Trinamool Congress, Congress ally DMK and its outside supporters Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party have opposed the move.
