Refusing to react to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s claim that the Centre has put on hold its decision on FDI in retail, the BJP and the Left said it would better if the government comes out with a formal announcement in this regard.
BJP chief spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad and CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta said in separate statements that “there is no meaning” in a chief minister talking on “the behalf of the Central government”.
Mr Prasad said, “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.”
Ms Banerjee, chief of the Trinamul Congress, a key UPA ally, met Mr Mukherjee on Saturday in Kolkata to discuss the FDI in multi-brand retail issue. After the meeting, Ms Banerjee said the government has decided to put on hold the FDI issue till it arrives at a consensus with its allies.
Mr Dasgupta said, “Nobody can make a statement on behalf of the government of India. An announcement of such nature and import cannot be made by a chief minister.” He said a statement on the issue, which has disrupted Parliament proceedings, “can only be made by the Prime Minister or a minister of the government”.
The CPI leader said, “An announcement by a CM cannot be taken to be the basis for a comment. The decision has been taken by the government of India and not that of West Bengal.”