Govt has put retail FDI decision on hold, claims Mamata

New Delhi: The United Progressive Alliance Government has put the decision to allow Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in retail on hold till Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee agrees to it.

Surprisingly the announcement that the decision on allowing FDI in retail has been suspended came from Mamata and not from the Government.

"I have spoken twice with Pranab Mukherjee today. I have told him that our stand on FDI remains the same. Trinamool takes the issue of FDI very serious. We are concerned about farmers. Pranab Mukherjee has told me that Government will suspend it till consensus is evolved," Mamata said in Kolkata on Saturday.

Speaking to CNN-IBN, Mamata said that Pranab Mukherjee will announce the decision in Parliament on Wednesday. "Pranab Mukherjee will announce the decision in Parliament on Wednesday. Pranab told me that the decision on FDI in retail is suspended till the consensus is evolved," she said.

Pranab Mukherjee, however, refused to comment on the issue, but said that he spoke to Mamata thrice on FDI. "I spoke with Mamata thrice on this issue, but it will be inappropriate for me to talk on this issue as Parliament is in session," he said.

Sources say there will be no notification on FDI in retail from the Commerce Ministry till a consensus is reached.

Government sources say that efforts would still be made to convince Mamata to accept FDI in retail.

The Left, however, refused to buy Mamata's statement and demanded that the statement should come from the government itself. "Government has made a decision publicly. Therefore, it is the government which has to make a statement. the Prime Minister has to make a statement, not the Chief Minister of West Bengal," CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta said.

Congress MP Sanjay Singh, who had come out openly again the UPA government's decision on FDI in retail, said that the decision to put FDI in retail on hold was in the interest of the people. "I felt that the FDI decision was going against the Congress philosophy and the people. The Congress represents the people. If the party feels that a decision needs to be put on hold, it is in the interest of the people," he said.

This is a big setback for the reforms as it comes at a time when India Inc has been questioning the Government's lack of initiative to go ahead with crucial reforms.

The decision also raises questions on the authority of the Prime Minister and the Government in taking decisions.

Such a backtrack by the Government will also motivate allies and Opposition to oppose the Government's decisions strongly.

Mamata, one of the most important allies of the Congress-led Central Government, has been firm on her decision on not allowing FDI in retail.

She had spurned Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's call to support FDI in retail on Friday. The Government needs the TMC's support as it is the single largest UPA ally with 19 MPs.

Earlier on Friday, at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had asked Mamata not to stand in the way of states that want to implement FDI in retail.

The Prime Minister had also reached out to the key UPA partner. Manmohan Singh called up Mamata seeking support and to explain the government's position on FDI but the West Bengal Chief Minister remained adamant.

The Government had been cornered over its decision to allow FDI in retail by both the Opposition parties and its allies. The Opposition led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Left Front had been demanding an adjournment motion in Parliament over the issue and had even been supported by the Trinamool and DMK MPs.

The first nine days of Parliament's winter session have been washed out over the issue with both the Government and the Opposition sticking to their stands.

Mamata's announcement in Kolkata that FDI in retail decision has been put on hold for the time being will also help the Government in claiming that it has not bowed down before the Opposition. Parliament will meet after an extended weekend on Wednesday with the government looking to end the deadlock.

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