Mamata Banerjee likely to withdraw ministers from UPA

September 16, 2012

Mamatha_OffNew Delhi/Kolkata, September 16: Sources have told NDTV that Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to withdraw ministers from the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre over the introduction of Foreign Direct Investment in multi-brand retail and hike in diesel prices. The Trinamool Congress is now likely to give only outside support to the ruling coalition, sources added. Ms Banerjee will hold a meeting with her party's top brass on Tuesday to take a final decision.

The Trinamool Congress has six ministers at the Centre and 19 members in Parliament.

Ms Banerjee has rejected the decision to allow 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail, which would allow super-chains like WalMart to partner with a local company and sell directly to the Indian customer. She also wants the government to rollback a five-rupee increase in diesel prices and revoke the decision to limit to six the number of subsidized gas cylinders available to each household. The West Bengal Chief Minister had on Friday issued a 72-hour deadline to the government for the move to allow FDI in multi-brand retail to be rolled back.

Ms Banerjee's Facebook page says "loot cholchhe loot (Loot is going on)" and that she cannot accept reforms against the people's interest.

"We are not in favour of toppling the government. But they should not forget the 'Lakshman Rekha' of the alliance. We will not agree with any anti-people decisions. We have given 72-hour deadline to rethink... if you roll back, it's good. But if not, then be ready to face the consequences," she said at the rally yesterday organised to protest against the recent decisions announced by the government.

"UPA isn't made up of just one party. Why weren't other parties in UPA consulted on fuel hike," she asked at the rally.

Reiterating her demand for a roll back of the FDI and the fuel hike, Ms Banerjee said she was shocked at how the country was being sold. "The price of human beings is declining, and every other price is rising... Without fuel subsidy, how will poor families bear the burden?" she said. "This may be digestible to one part of the government, but not to us," she added.

Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati, who has provided support to the Centre at critical moments, too has slammed the Congress-led government for taking "decisions against the common man."

Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party has also said that he won't allow FDI in retail in his state. The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister's party has bailed out the Congress-led coalition government on several occasions. But party chief Mulayam Singh's recent alignment on several issues with the Left and other parties has given rise to much speculation that there are efforts to open a non-Congress, non-BJP Third Front before the 2014 general elections.

The new retail policy was cleared by the cabinet last November, but was abandoned after Ms Banerjee threatened to quit the UPA coalition. Since then, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been criticised by industry and international media for ignoring the urgent need for reform despite a sagging economy and signals of foreign investors' concerns. Defending the FDI decisions, the PM had said yesterday that they were designed to improve the investment climate and bring in foreign investment to reduce debt. He also said that the hike in diesel prices effected on Thursday was "a step in the right direction."

Commerce Minister Anand Sharma has stressed that states have the right to reject the multi-brand reforms. "It is an enabling legislation," he said, adding that, "while we respect Mamata Banerjee's prerogative to implement or not implement...equally it is the prerogative of other states to have it," he said on Friday.


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News Network
July 23,2020

New Delhi, Jul 23: With the highest single-day spike of 45,720 cases, India's coronavirus count crossed 12 lakh mark on Thursday.

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare informed that 1,129 deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours.

The total number of coronavirus cases stand at 12,38,635 including 4,26,167 active cases, 7,82,606 cured/discharged/migrated. The cumulative toll has reached 29,861 deaths.

Maharashtra has reported 3,37,607 cases, highest in the country followed by Tamil Nadu with 1,86,492 cases. Delhi coronavirus count has reached 1,26,323 cases.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 1,50,75,369 samples were tested till July 22 out of which 3,50,823 samples were tested yesterday.

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News Network
May 12,2020

New Delhi, May 12: Stranded for over 50 days due to the lockdown and suspension of passenger train services, many people in the national capital will finally be able to reach their destinations in different parts of the country after the railways resumed services on Tuesday.

Three special AC trains will leave the New Delhi railway station for Dibrugarh, Bengaluru and Bilaspur.

The train to Dibrugarh in Assam will leave at 4.45 p.m, while the one leaving for Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh and Bengaluru in Karnataka will leave the New Delhi station at 5.30 p.m and 9.15 p.m respectively.

Entry to the station has been facilitated from the Paharganj side for all confirmed ticket holders. No entry for passengers holding such tickets will be permitted from the Ajmeri Gate side, the railways said.

Railway authorities have put barricades outside the station premises and only those with confirmed tickets are being allowed to enter.

All passengers are undergoing thermal screening before entering the station premises. For this purpose, they have also been asked to reach the station 90 minutes prior to the departure of the train.

A senior Railway Police Force officer said every passenger is being subjected to thermal screening. Hand sanitiser machines have also been placed at the entrance and the passengers are being advised to sanitise their hands before entering the station premises.

Syed Yasir, a private retail sector executive, said due to the resumption of services he will now be able to go to Nagpur to be with his family on Eid. 

Surendra, an engineer with a PSU, was on an assignment in Agra when the lockdown was announced. After the Railways decided to resume passenger train services, he came to Delhi in a private vehicle to board the train to Bengaluru.

"I was on an assignment in Agra where I was stuck. I have come from Agra in a private vehicle and now going to board the train to Bengaluru," Surendra, who identified himself with his first name, said.

Five more trains bound for Delhi will leave from Patna, Bengaluru, Howrah, Mumbai and Ahmedabad, the railways said.

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News Network
February 4,2020

New Delhi, Feb 4: Senior BJP leader and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday accused Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party of not implementing the central government's schemes in the national capital.

Addressing an election rally in Moti Bagh, he also sought to allay fears over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), assuring the gathering that the legislation will not take away anyone's citizenship.

Singh alleged that the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government did not do anything in the last five years.

The AAP had promised to add 5,000 buses to the fleet of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), but instead the number has come down by 1,000, he claimed.

The Union minister said the AAP dispensation did not implement central schemes in Delhi fearing that the popularity of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government will grow among Delhiites.

Pension schemes and the Centre's flagship health insurance scheme, Ayushman Bharat Yojana, are some of those that the Kejriwal government did not allow to be implemented in Delhi.

On the anti-CAA protests, Singh said that the opposition parties have been spreading "lies" about amended citizenship law and the National Population Register (NPR).

"The CAA will not take away anyone's citizenship. The opposition parties are spreading lies about the CAA. There should be no such politics over this. Some people are trying to write the history of the country with the ink of hatred," he said.

The culture of India is such that it considers the entire world one family, he said.

Delhi goes to polls on February 8. The results will be declared on February 11.

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