Kolkata/New Delhi:
A little after her MPs had emerged from an hour-long meeting with the Prime Minister in Delhi, Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee told a local TV channel in Kolkata, "If there is another hike in price of petrol or petroleum products, we will pull out of the government." The current crisis in the UPA, brought on by Ms Banerjee's threat of last week that she would quit the UPA government on the recent rise in petrol prices, seems to have been averted.
In New Delhi, the Trinamool Congress' 18 Lok Sabha MPs and six Rajya Sabha MPs met the Prime Minister to lodge their protest against the recent petrol price hike. They did not seek a rollback; they sought a bigger say in important government decisions. And no resignations were submitted.
Trinamool leader Sudip Bandopadhyay said after the meeting the MPs had shared their concern about a continued rise in prices to the PM who "agreed with our sentiment." He said his party had emerged with the message delivered that the pro-poor Trinamool would "not digest another hike...If there is another fuel price hike, we will rethink our alliance with the UPA," he said echoing his leader.
(Live Blog)Mr Bandopadhyay said the MPs had also conveyed to the PM that they wanted better communication between allies in the UPA government.
The Trinamool MPs are expected to leave Delhi at 8 pm today for Kolkata, where they say they will brief party chief Mamata Banerjee on their meeting with the PM. Though an immediate crisis seemed to have been averted, the MPs said all decisions would be taken by Ms Banerjee.
At the same time that the PM was meeting her MPs, Mamata Banerjee was in a meeting with Finance Minister and the Congress' chief troubleshooter Pranab Mukherjee and West Bengal Governor MK Narayanan at the Raj Bhawan, discussing the state's financial health. She described the meeting as a routine one over tea and headed to an art exhibition.
That Kolkata meeting was as crucial to solving the crisis brought on by the latest Mamata sulk. Though ostensibly the Trinamool stance is all about the petrol price hike, sources say Ms Banerjee, who is also the West Bengal chief minister, is trying to drive a hard bargain with the Centre for a hefty financial package for her state, which is in fiscal disarray. The Union Finance Minister is also meeting West Bengal Governor MK Narayanan on the state's financial health today and a promise of more funds would go a long way in making Mamata Banerjee smile again.
In Kolkata, Mr Mukherjee today refused to comment on the possibility of a petrol price hike rollback saying the Prime Minister was discussing the matter with the Trinamool Congress. "Whatever decision the Prime Minister will take, that will be implemented, let us wait for that." The Prime Minister went into the meeting with Mamata's MPs having just been briefed by a worried Oil Minister Jaipal Reddy, who has defended the petrol price hike and warned against a rollback, saying the financial situation of state-owned oil companies is precarious.
But as the government's two top leaders attempted to placate their ally today, the Trinamool had made that task a little easier by saying they were not insisting on the rollback after all. Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi said earlier today that there were no threats. "Democracy does not work on threats...we are not children, we have to behave maturely...Mamata was candid and clear that the concern be taken to the PM's doorstep. I am sure that the PM is equally concerned," the Trinamool's only Cabinet-ranked minister said.
The Congress believes all will be well. Party leaders both in Kolkata and in Delhi have expressed not the slightest doubt that the Mamata crisis will blow over soon - they are by now seasoned in handling a Mamata Banerjee temper bout. Also, crib Congress leaders, the party has much the same complaints against the Trinamool in West Bengal as does Mamata's party at the Centre. In Bengal, they say, the Congress is an important ally of the ruling Trinamool, but is often kept out of major decision-making. Congress leaders have also argued that Mamata Banerjee was part of the Group of Ministers that had approved deregulation of petrol last year, which freed the fuel from subsidy and made prices subject to the market situation.
Pradip Bhattacharya of the West Bengal Congress sees the latest Mamata Banerjee threat as a game plan to press for more funds for her state. The angry ally card gives her the opportunity to bargain harder. Mr Bhattacharya says this is "not an empty threat, but I think it will evaporate." In Delhi, Law Minister Salman Khurshid said, "We cannot afford financial instability in our country. We could not get anybody better than our PM to solve this situation."
Despite his party's apparent nonchalance, the PM needed to ensure that the Trinamool MPs left today's meeting satisfied. With her 18 Lok Sabha MPs, Ms Banerjee is the Congress' largest ally and an indispensable part of the UPA. If Mamata Banerjee withdraws her ministers or walks out, the UPA's numbers will be shaky. Her seven ministers in the government are Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi, who is the only Trinamool minister with Cabinet rank, Mukul Roy, Minister of State, Shipping; Sudeep Bandopadhyay, Minister of State, Health; Saugata Roy, Minister of State, Urban Development; CM Jatua, Minister of State, Information and Broadcasting; Sisir Adhikari, Minister of State, Rural Development and Sultan Ahmed, Minister of State, Tourism.