Mamata stays firm, says ministers will quit today

Sticking to her decision to pull out of the UPA government, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said her party's ministers at the Centre would resign on Friday and have also sought an appointment with President Pranab Mukherjee in this connection.

"We have sought an appointment with the President. If he gives us time tomorrow, we will inform him of our decision. Otherwise, we will inform him later. Our ministers will submit their resignations to the PM tomorrow," she said.

A Trinamool MP said that although Banerjee had announced withdrawal of support on Tuesday, the resignations were put off till Friday in the hope that the government may announce a rollback. "But no communication has come to the party till this afternoon," he said.

Making a fresh appeal to the Congress, she said: "Let the issues be left to the people who take the final decision."

She also posted on her Facebook page a statement made by then finance minister Pranab Mukherjee in Parliament stating that the government would take a decision on allowing FDI in multi-brand retail only after a "consensus is developed... among all stakeholders".

In her message, Banerjee said: "For the knowledge of general public... I am posting the statement given by the ex-union finance minister on December 7, 2011 in Lok Sabha... I expect your comments on it... Now tell us who has deviated from this statement of the central government?"

Banerjee said her party would organise protests against the government's decisions, adding that she "cannot tolerate those who are planning to sell the entire country".

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