LOOTING going on in the name of reforms: Mamata

Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday hit out at the United Progressive Alliance's decision to allow FDI in retail, saying, "Looting is going on in the name of aam admi and reforms".

"Reforms are meant to usher development for the people. Nowadays, the trend is that whenever any anti-people decision is taken, it is taken in the name of reforms," Banerjee, who left for Delhi during the day to attend her party's demonstration at Jantar Mantar on Monday, said in her post in Facebook.

Her comments came shortly after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh indicated that the Centre may continue with the reforms process and expressed his willingness to discuss issues with the allies.

"We will do what is good for the country, reforms are not one-off process," he said in Delhi.

Six Trinamool Congress central ministers had submitted their resignations on September 21 to the prime minister in protest against allowing FDI in retail, diesel price hike and the cap on subsidised cooking gas cylinders. The party had also submitted a letter to President Pranab Mukherjee, formally withdrawing TMC's support to the UPA II government.

Senior party leader and former Union minister of state for urban development Saugata Roy told PTI that all party MPs are supposed to take part at the dharna at Jantar Mantar on Monday.

Referring to the finance ministry's decision to levy service tax on air conditioned passenger coaches and freight services fares in railways from October 1, he said it would further burden the people after the decisions on hiking price of diesel, restriction on subsidised LPG cylinders, increase in fertiliser prices and permission for FDI in retail.