Kolkata, Sep 20: Hoping that Trinamool Congress would reconsider its decision to withdraw from the UPA, the Congress' West Bengal unit Thursday said not allowing retail FDI in Bengal would have a disastrous effect on the state's economy and noted that Trinamool had itself sought it earlier.
”The Trinamool in its election manifesto during the 2011 elections asked for FDI in the state. Now they are opposing it. I just want to say that it's their decision of not allowing retail FDI in Bengal, but who has given them the right to create road blocks for other states which want retail FDI,” said state Congress president Pradip Bhattacharya.
Miffed over the twin “anti-people decisions” of diesel price hike and FDI in retail, Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Tuesday announced that the Trinamool Congress was withdrawing support to the UPA government
Bhattacharya claimed that allowing FDI in retail would benefit both the farmers and the consumers as both the sections will get the price.
”Trinamool in its manifesto has protested against middlemen who buy vegetables from farmers at a low price and sell them in the markets at a much higher price. Retail FDI would ensure that farmers get a good price for their crops and the common people get vegetables at a reasonable price,” he said.
The Congress leader also noted that Banerjee during her years in the opposition had repeatedly sought that the then Left regime slash state taxes on petro products.
”During Trinamool's years in the opposition they used to claim that state government imposes the highest amount of taxes on the oil prices. They used to demand that those taxes should be slashed. So now that they are in power, what are they doing, why aren't they repealing those taxes?”
”We still expect that Trinamool Congress and its ministers will reconsider their decision. But it is of no use the way they are using the tactics of blaming the central government for each and every thing,” said Bhattacharya.
