Allies speak in contradicting terms
Key UPA allies--Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party--expressed strong opposition to the controversial decisions to hike diesel price, cap on supply of subsidised LPG and FDI in multi-brand retail and asked it to roll them back.
While leaders of all the three parties, which account for 62 Lok Sabha members, referred to their support to the Congress-led government, they made ambivalent remarks on whether they would really bite the bullet by withdrawing the backing.
The UPA coalition enjoys the support of over 310 MPs in the Lok Sabha where 273 constitutes a simple majority in a House of 545.
BSP supremo Mayawati, whose party has 21 MPs and provides outside support to the government, spoke of taking a decison on continuing support after a meeting of the National Executive on or after Oct 9.
However, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, whose Trinamool Congress with 19 MPs is the second largest constituent in the UPA after the Congress, spoke in contradicting terms.
She threatened to take "hard" decisions at the end of a 72-hour deadline if the controversial decisions were not not withdrawn while adding in the same vein her party was not not in favour of quitting the government.
"We have called a party meeting on Tuesday to discuss these issues. If the Centre does not roll back the hike in diesel price and withdraw decisions on FDI in multi-brand retail and LPG, we will take decisions, however, hard they may be. I hope the people will not misunderstand," Banerjee told a rally in Kolkata.
She said her party would not like to topple the UPA government. "We are not in favour of quitting the government. We are always in favour of not breaking the alliance. But we are committed to the people." MORE