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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has alleged that the allies of the UPA Government were only posturing as they stand together in the name of secularism whenever corruption and scams take place in the country. This follows West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee threatening to withdraw her ministers from the Centre over the introduction of Foreign Direct Investment in multi-brand retail and hike in diesel prices. "Whenever corruption, scams and loot take place, some parties stand in the name of secularism. Some parties appear to be united because of some personal selfishness either it will be some case or package or some other reason at the Centre over the introduction of Foreign Direct Investment in multi-brand retail and hike in diesel prices," said BJP spokesperson Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. "If these parties adopt the same attitude to save the government on secular lines even this time, then the nation will not forget them," he added. Mamata Banerjee took to the streets in Kolkata yesterday warning that the TMC would take 'hard' decisions at the end of her 72-hour deadline set by her party if the UPA Government did not scrap FDI in retail, diesel price hike and limit on subsidised LPG. "We have called a party meeting on Tuesday to discuss these issues. If the Centre does not roll back the hike in diesel price and withdraw decisions on FDI in multi-brand retail and curbs on LPG, we will take decisions, however hard they may be. I hope the people will not misunderstand," she told a rally. Expressing astonishment over the government's sudden big-ticket reforms, Banerjee said: "I don't know what happened. So many decisions were taken on a single day. We want economic reforms that reach the grassroots, not something that benefits a section. These are anti-people decisions." "We are not in favour of quitting the government. We are always in favour of not breaking the alliance. But we are committed to the people." Banerjee said "we are the second largest ally of UPA and we could have got more cabinet berths. We have now only the Railway ministry but that hardly matters to us. What matters to us are the people," she added. Banerjee further said that she could not betray the trust of the people, who have instilled confidence in her. "We don't want FDI in retail. This was in our election manifesto. The people voted us for five years. How can we betray their trust? How many times will you go on hiking prices at the cost of the common people?" she asked. Banerjee further said the Centre should provide two LPG cylinders with subsidy each month per family, which means 24 LPG cylinders at subsidised rates per year. On Thursday, the government announced a hike in diesel price by Rs. 5 a litre and capped supply of subsidized cooking gas cylinders per family to six per year.

'Mamata only posturing', claims BJP on TMC threat to UPA