Even though the Trinamul Congress has set the UPA a 72-hour deadline to roll back its decisions allowing FDI in multi-brand retail and the diesel price hike, a section of the Trinamul maintained that the party would focus more on public agitation than destabilising the government at the Centre.
TMC chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, sources said, would be authorised to take a decision on withdrawing party nominees in the UPA at the party parliamentary board meting on Tuesday.
However, sources said, the TMC may not take any decision at that meeting as the focus is more on passing a political resolution backed with facts to attack the Congress-led UPA government on the decision allowing FDI in multi-brand retail and the diesel price hike.
This is despite the fact that Ms Banerjee has used strong words, like “fighting” and “making sacrifices”, to condemn the Cabinet’s decisions. Sources revealed that finance minister P. Chidambaram in his meeting with Ms Banerjee last month in New Delhi had sounded her out on the UPA taking “tough” decisions to improve business confidence, but Ms Banerjee had reportedly remained silent.
Trinamul sources said “toppling the UPA government is a remote option but all options would be considered so that the party is not seen on the same page with the UPA on allowing FDI in multi-brand retail and the diesel price hike”.