Kolkata, Sept 18: In a major decision bound to have political ramifications, the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress today decided to pull out of the UPA government at the Centre protesting diesel and LPG price hikes and allowing of FDI in multi-brand retail.
Trinamool Congress has 19 MPs in the Lok Sabha.
All Trinamool Congress ministers have been directed to submit their resignations to the Prime Minister on Friday.
The Trinamool Congress has one cabinet minister, Mukul Roy and five ministers of state, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Sougata Roy, Sultan Ahmed, Sisir Adhikary and C M Jatua in the Union council of ministers.
At a marathon parliamentary meeting here today in the presence of party supremo Mamata Banerjee, the party decided that it would pull out all its ministers from the UPA, as the major constituent Congress was unwilling to rollback the diesel and LPG price hikes and FDi in multi-brand retail.
The party described the latest economic reforms by the UPA government at the centre as "anti-people".
On Saturday, Mamata Banerjee had given a 72-hour deadline to the Centre to rollback its decisions by Tuesday or face "strong action". The deadline expired today.
In a strident remark, Mamata Banerjee charged the UPA government of "selling out the country" through FDI in multi-brand retail. "We will oppose it", she said.
Banerjee also said, her party will oppose the Pension Fund bill on the floor of Parliament.
The TMC supremo said, Congress was "resorting to blackmailing tactics". 'Sometimes somebody has to bell the cat', she added.
