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Mamata quits BJP's coordination panel over price-rise

Trinamul Congress president Mamata Banerjee today submitted her resignation from the coordination committee of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition government at the Centre protesting against the spiralling prices of essential commodities in the country.

According to highly placed sources, Mamata Banerjee sent her resignation to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today.

Vajpayee has post-haste directed convenor of the coordination committee George Fernandes to proceed to Calcutta to persuade Banerjee not to press for her resignation from the panel.

The firebrand leader from West Bengal had given a deadline of November 3 to the Vajpayee government to convene the meeting of state chief ministers on the price hike issue failing which she would quit.

The prime minister is understood to have refused to accept Banerjee's resignation.

Banerjee said she has only resigned from the coordination committee and was not withdrawing support to the Vajpayee government. Irked over the price situation, particularly that of onions, pulses, edible oils and other essential commodities, the TC leader said she wanted the government to take effective, assertive and positive steps to combat skyrocketing prices.

Fernandes, who has emerged as a mediator for the Vajpayee government, will apprise Banerjee about the series of measures taken by the Centre to contain price rise.

It was not immediately known when Fernandes will rush to Calcutta.

Official sources said Fernandes would also brief Banerjee on a number of other measures, not made public so far, to contain inflation and improve the economy overall. Results of these measures, sources said, had started coming up in certain areas.

The sources, however, maintained that there was no threat to the government because of the TC chief's action and hoped that the matter would be sorted out soon.

A visibly upset Banerjee told newspersons in Calcutta that she had taken this step as part of her political commitment to safeguard the interests of the common man.

The TC, with seven MPs in the Lok Sabha, has extended unconditional support to the Vajpayee government from the outside.

UNI

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